Alaska senators split on Homeland Security funding

Congress avoided a partial shutdown the Department of Homeland Security tonight, having approved department funding for one week. Earlier today, Alaska’s two Republican senators split over a bill that would fund the department for the rest of the fiscal year. Lisa Murkowski sided with Republican leaders to pass the bill. Sen. Dan Sullivan was among a minority of senators who voted against it, because it did not include language defunding the president’s deferred action on deportations.

Sullivan says the president’s action on immigration is illegal and the senator says his vote against the funding bill is part of his promise to uphold the Constitution. The U.S. House this afternoon rejected a measure to fund the Homeland Security Department for three more weeks. Alaska’s Don Young voted with Republican leadership in favor of the stopgap spending bill.

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