For the second time in less than a week, Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy voted with fellow Tea Party House Republicans against a bipartisan proposal to continue funding the Department of Homeland Security.
Last week the House approved temporary funding for DHS to avoid a partial shutdown, with Duffy joining the Tea Party in voting against the extension. The far-right wing of the House Congressional caucus has repeatedly threatened to stop funding DHS because of President Obama’s executive action on immigration reform, with several House Republicans commenting that a DHS shutdown wouldn’t be “the end of the world.”
Yesterday as another funding deadline loomed, Duffy again voted with the extreme wing of his Party against funding DHS unless their demands on immigration were met. The House passed the “clean” DHS bill 257-167, with 75 Republicans, to include Paul Ryan, joining every Democratic member in voting to fund DHS without conditions on immigration reform.
“I can’t imagine that anyone in North and Central Wisconsin was hoping their elected officials would go to Washington, D.C. and vote against a bipartisan bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but that’s exactly what Sean Duffy did – twice,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Wednesday. “The Department of Homeland Security funds programs critical to the safety and well-being of every American and provides essential resources in our local communities that assist first responders. It’s a shame that Rep. Duffy would threaten our national security to score cheap political points with the extreme right-wing.”
