As we noted yesterday, a number of Republicans who inherently oppose the RSC budget, yet wanted to go on record as voting for it, switched their votes from no to aye when they realized that Democrats wouldn’t vote present and let it pass. This stratagem was orchestrated by the GOP Whip team. Here is a list of the vote switchers (from the Congressional Record) who supported the RSC budget, but only after it was clear that it would never pass:
Messrs. RIVERA, HARPER, THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mrs. ELLMERS, Messrs. SHIMKUS, HUNTER, HULTGREN, MICA, FINCHER, COFFMAN of Colorado, TIPTON, Ms. FOXX, Messrs. OLSON, MURPHY of Pennsylvania, SHUSTER, and BUCSHON changed their vote from “no” to “aye.”
In addition, four members switched from aye to no; Messrs. DREIER, WALZ, BILIRAKIS, and YOUNG of Florida.
I was curious to see which members voted for the budget this year but not last year, and vice versa:
The New Yes’s (30) (asterisks next to those who played the vote switching game)
Adams
Amodei
Black
Boustany
Buschon*
DesJarlais
Ellmers*
Farenthold
Fincher*
Gardner
Gohmert
Graves (MO)
Griffin
Hultgren*
Jenkins
McCotter
McMorris Rodgers
Murphy (PA)*
Pearce
Pitts
Rivera*
Rooney
Scott (SC)
Sensenbrenner
Shuster*
Simpson
Thompson (PA)*
Tipton*
Upton
Yoder
It is always good to have new additions, but note that some of these members, like Boustany, Ellmers, Simpson, Murphy, Rivera, Upton, have primary challengers.
The New No’s (13)
Bachus
Calvert
Carter
Denham
Duncan (TN)
Gallegly
Granger
Kelly
Miller (FL)
Smith (NE)
Southerland (He is very conservative. I can’t imagine that he opposed the spending cuts. He presumably voted no because of the provision that would open up drilling along the Florida coast)
Terry
Turner (NY) (new member)
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