As the longest shutdown in U.S. government history continues, Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson broke party ranks Thursday and voted for a Democratic spending bill without border wall funding demanded by President Donald Trump.
UPDATED: The shutdown ended temporarily on Friday with a three-week budget extension.
Isakson was one of six Republicans who supported a budget bill that would fund the government for three weeks and have Congress continue negotiating border security issues while providing back pay to furloughed government employees.
That bill passed 52-44, but it needed 60 votes to end a filibuster. The other Republicans voting for the measure were Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah.
Georgia’s junior Senator, Republican David Perdue, voted against that bill.
He and Isakson, an East Cobb resident. had previously voted for a bill that would have given Trump his $5.7 billion in border funding and provided some immigrants with certain legal protections.
That bill failed 50-47, so the 34-day stalemate between Trump and Congress will continue indefinitely. Here’s Isakson’s statement from the Senate floor Thursday:
“You know a lot of people think Congress’ job is to come to Washington and change things for the better. When it comes to immigration, all we ever change is the subject. We never end the debate, we never pass a result, and often times we would call each other names for the wrong reason.
“I’m here for one reason: To thank the colleagues that are on the floor here and all those others that are ready to do some business. I’m ready to do some business.
“It’s time we put the workers in our government back to work. It’s time we were doing what we promised the people of the United States of America we would do, and it’s time we went to work. Because when everybody’s out of work, it’s our fault. These are the people who carry the mail, empty the garbage, cook in the cafeteria, clean up the parks, and do everything they do without any complaint whatsoever. But they’re out there, many of them not even being paid right now, while we’re sitting here debating a subject that we can’t reach a solution on, period.
“We need to take our armor off, leave our weapons at the door, walk in the room, shake hands. . . . Let’s sit down, and let’s pass a bill we can both agree on that gets Americans back to work and restores the spirit of Ellis Island and the pride of the United States of America.”
Isakson earlier this month co-sponsored federal legislation to permanently end government shutdowns.
Isakson said little good comes from shutdowns, and he cited the five shutdowns in his time in Washington.
“Idle hands are never good,” he said.
Here’s what Perdue, a strong Trump supporter, said after Thursday’s votes:
“Many of us fought to keep the Senate in session last August to avoid this funding situation in the first place. President Trump has tried to reopen negotiations with a reasonable proposal that not only fully funds the federal government, but also addresses critical border security and disaster relief. It is unacceptable that Senate Democrats continue to reject every opportunity to compromise in good faith. In the real world, both sides have to negotiate to find a solution. It’s time to work together to tackle these national priorities.”
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