Government Shutdown Ends but Immigration Showdown Moves to Center Stage

By George Caldwell | The Daily Signal

The House of Representatives passed a Senate-modified spending package to reopen the government by a 217-214 margin Tuesday.

The measure passed with 42 defections: 21 Republicans voting against it and 21 Democrats voting for it.

Hardline conservatives such as Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Keith Self, R-Texas, voted against the package. There were also Democrat defectors, such as swing district Reps. Don Davis of North Carolina and Henry Cuellar of Texas.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the chamber’s top Democrat appropriator, voted for the bill. Democrat leaders, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, voted against the package.

Beyond helping end a short-lived shutdown, the vote sets the stage for a congressional debate on immigration policy and law enforcement.

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