DHS Shutdown Over Immigration?

Do the Republican’s have the will to shutdown the government over Obama’s immigration policies or are they appeasing the tea party folks by scheduling votes that show they tried? The Senate failed to advance a bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security but strip it of money for Obama’s executive actions on immigration according to the Washington Post.In a party line vote, all 46 Democrats stood firm leaving Republicans short of the 60 votes needed. Republicans have had better luck in the house where their majorities are much healthier. They have voted to repeal Obama Care a gazillion times and did it again in the last couple of days. What is waiting these bills even if they manage to get out of Congress is a big veto as Obama threatened at the State of the Union address.

In the end, I do not see the republican leadership going along with those who would shut down the government over the immigration issue. It is not a definite winner for Republicans and they were burned the last time they shutdown the government. Governing turns out to be harder than thought. As NPR reports, Mitch McConnell has a real problem in his hands in the form of the vocal Ted Cruz. Cruz was quoted as saying that, to stop Obama’s immigration policies congress should, “I wrote a long op-ed two months ago, laying [out] precisely what we should do. We should use the power of confirmations and we should use the power of the purse.”

Cruz may have to live with funding Obama’s policies as long as the threat of ISIS and other terrorists continues to take over our airwaves as I see the republican leadership being wary of putting the country at risk by shutting down the department of homeland security. It would be handing the president and democratic a juicy talking point that would be used as a hammer going into 2016 putting republican candidates in a awkward position of going along or criticizing their own party.

At the end of the day, Congress has the power to spend our tax dollars. Therefore, even when presidents put forth budgets it is more a suggestion of his priorities and at the mercy of the congress. With the president dealing with majorities he will have to compromise and take on deals he doesn’t like to get some of what he wants done. The president drew a red line with his veto threats at the State of the Union so we will see how things shape up.