Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) intends to buck his party and vote for a clean funding bill without wall money, according to a Denver Post editorial.
Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is finally allowing two bills to the floor on Thursday, one of which would reopen the government until February 8 and keep border funding at current levels.
Gardner is also reportedly supporting a measure to allow federal workers to collect their paychecks even if the shutdown continues. That legislation would come into play if the clean bill fails—which is probable—due to Republican opposition.
Gardner is considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans running for reelection in 2020, and will likely step out of line with the party more frequently than his safer peers.
The thing is, will he vote for both or only for one of the two competing proposals?
The former is “so what”, the latter would be a true statement.
My guess is Door #1.
As I replied elsewhere, Gardner breaking is a dog biting man story; when Thune and Portman cross over then we are truly in popcorn time.
Prediction: As with the resolution to reimpose the sanctions on the Russian oligarch’s companies, the final vote on the “clean” CR will be 58-42. Two votes short of what is required to advance, so that no single GOP senator could be tagged with being the “deciding” vote to keep the government closed.
On the other hand, with the President having folded on the SOTU we may get some compromise in the next week or so.
Gardner is widely respected in the GOP for his political abilities. It is why he was selected to run the RNSC in 2018.
Gardner is breaking because he has access to, and understands the polling on the shutdown. It is causing republican inclined independents, who see the GOP as the “grown-up party” to be repelled by the GOP. That it is for a wall that is less popular than Trump is the kiss of death.
Gardner knows that his neck is on the line. He toed Trump’s line in 2016-2018, that he is breaking now should be a 'break the glass" sign to the GOP.
If the number who break reaches 4 (I would expect Murkowski to vote yes on a clean bill) so that bill will actually pass, it will substantially up the pressure on those running in 2020 (think Earnst, Tillis, McSalley, Purdue, Collins, even John Coryn)
I’m sure all the GOP will vote for one that includes wall funding. Why would they not? They don’t give a shit that wall isn’t really needed nor that amount isn’t probably near enough with typical govmint over runs.