GROWING DIVIDE? GOP faces infighting during budget battle
Published December 13, 2014
Dec. 12, 2014: Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill as the Senate considers a spending bill.
WASHINGTON Republican arent mincing words about some in their own party as the political divide grows and the deadline to pass a spending bill nears.
Heading into a rare Saturday session, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News he was surprised that GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah went over his head Friday night and held up a vote on the $1.1 trillion spending bill.
A senior GOP source lashed out at Cruz and Lee, calling the move hamfisted and amateurish.
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters that he was surprised by Cruz and Lee.
On Friday night, the two Republican lawmakers demanded a vote on a proposal to cut funds from the bill that could be used to implement President Obama's new immigration policy, ending any chance the measure could clear the Senate and be sent to the White House with a minimum of fuss.
Officials in both parties said the bill remains on track for clearance by early next week. Even so, the move led Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to abandon plans to adjourn the Senate for the weekend, and raised the possibility of a test vote on the spending bill shortly after midnight on Saturday.
Senate Republican leaders have pledged to challenge Obama's immigration policy early in the new year, after the GOP takes control of the Senate. But Cruz suggested they shouldn't be entirely trusted to keep their pledge.
"We will learn soon enough if those statements are genuine and sincere," he said, in a clear reference to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker John Boehner.
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GROWING DIVIDE? GOP faces infighting during budget battle