Free Republic

Democratic defections were mostly Hispanic Caucus members, progressives concerned about immigration enforcement House Democrats were just two votes short Thursday night of being able to clear a fiscal 2019 appropriations package without Republican help, while less than half of the GOP conference voted for the bill to avert another government shutdown. That dynamic may foreshadow battles ahead as the new House Democratic majority will try to exert its influence over government spending while still having to deal with a Republican president and Senate. By and large, House Democrats only losing 19 of their members on the $333 billion spending package...

Saturday night, the Senate voted on a constitutional point of order raised by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)95%. Heritage Action’s chief executive officer Michael A. Needham explained the vote this way: “If Senators are opposed to President Obama’s executive action on immigration, they should vote in favor of Sen. Cruz’s constitutional point of order. A vote against the point of order is a vote in favor of unchecked presidential power and granting work permits and Social Security numbers to people who are in the country illegally.” While 22 Republican Senators voted to uphold the constitutional point of order, 20 Republican Senators...