WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Three U.S. Senate Democrats and one Republican crossed the political divide on Tuesday in their votes on a temporary funding bill that would have averted the federal government shutdowns now underway.
These are the four renegades:
ANGUS KING
The 81-year-old Maine senator is an independent who aligns with Democrats and has been in the Senate since 2013.
“I could not, in good conscience, vote to shut the government down and hand even greater power to the trio of Donald Trump, Stephen Miller and Russell Vought,” King said in a statement, referring to Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Miller and Office of Management and Budget Director Vought.
JOHN FETTERMAN
This first-term Democratic maverick from Pennsylvania has been firm in his commitment to never vote against legislation keeping the government operating.
“I won’t vote for the chaos of shuttering our government,” Fetterman, 56, said in a statement late on Tuesday. “My vote was for our country over my party.”
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO
Masto, 61, the Senate’s first Hispanic American woman, has charted a moderate course since joining the chamber in 2017.
The Nevada Democratic senator explained her vote for the temporary funding bill saying on social media: “President Trump and congressional Republicans are already hurting Nevadans who are dealing with high costs, an economic slowdown, and a looming health care crisis.” She added that a “costly shutdown” would “hand even more power to this reckless administration.”
RAND PAUL
The Kentucky Republican regularly bucks his party leadership when it comes to voting on spending bills and Tuesday night was no different.
“The spending levels … don’t balance the budget and don’t come anywhere close,” Paul, a 62-year-old ophthalmologist, said in a Monday Senate speech outlining his position.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; editing by Scott Malone and Nick Zieminski)
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