These 9 House Republicans broke from the party to vote for the $1.7T funding package
These 9 House Republicans broke from the party to vote for the $1.7T funding package
BY MYCHAEL SCHNELL – 12/23/22 5:27 PM ET
Nine House Republicans broke from the GOP to support a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill on Friday, ignoring leadership’s recommendation to vote against the measure.
The legislation passed in a 225-201-1 vote and now heads to President Biden’s desk for his final signature. The Senate approved the measure in a bipartisan 68-29 vote on Thursday.
The nine Republicans broke from the GOP and voted for the bill were Reps. John Katko (N.Y.), Chris Jacobs (N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Liz Cheney (Wyo.), Fred Upton (Mich.), Rodney Davis (Ill.), Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Steve Womack (Ark.).
Only two — Fitzpatrick and Womack — are returning to Congress next year. The others either opted against running for another term or lost their reelection races.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) was the only Democrat to vote “no,” and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) was the lone “present” vote.
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The spending bill — which funds the government until Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2023 — includes $772.5 billion in nondefense discretionary spending and $858 billion in defense funding. Other legislative measures were also written into the bill, such as funding for Ukraine and the Electoral Count Reform Act.
The nine Republicans voted for the omnibus despite House GOP leadership whipping against the measure. In a notice sent on Tuesday, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) urged members of the conference to vote “no” on the omnibus, arguing that the incoming House GOP majority should have more say in funding for the rest of the fiscal year.
“This deal is designed to sideline the incoming Republican House Majority by extending many programs for multiple years and providing large funding increases for Democrat priorities on top of the exorbitant spending that has already been appropriated this year,” the notice reads.
