Fight Over Stopgap Spending Bill Leaves GOP Senators Livid
A fight over a stopgap spending bill in the Senate left Republicans fuming at their colleagues Saturday, even as the Senate approved a measure pushing back the threat of a government shutdown until Wednesday.
Republican senators fumed as a strategy developed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) intended to undercut President Obama’s immigration action seemed to backfire, giving Democrats a chance to move a batch of controversial Obama administration appointments.
This reminds me very much of the shutdown last year where the strategy made absolutely no sense and was counterproductive.- Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)
Lawmakers in both parties were already in a sour mood as an unexpected Saturday session spoiled many of their weekend plans. But Republicans, many of whom still blame Cruz for the 2013 shutdown that briefly bruised the party’s public standing, did little to hide their frustration over what they called a counterproductive gambit by the Texas senator to use the must-pass spending bill as leverage in a fight over the president’s immigration policy.
Asked whether the Cruz strategy was an effective one, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of party leadership, said: “I’d have to figure out the strategy before I can tell you.”
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