As predicted, Republicans could not garner the 60 votes necessary to advance a Department of Homeland Security funding bill, which contained measures designed to roll back President Obama’s immigration initiatives.
The vote failed 51-48, with no Democratic support. Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada was the sole Republican defector. GOP Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois abstained and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voted “no” as a procedural matter so he could bring the bill up later.
McConnell has not indicated that he has an alternative plan for passing a bill that extends DHS funding, which ends Feb. 27.
If funding lapses, all of Homeland Security's 280,000 employees could lose their paychecks but the White House has said that as many as 150,000 of those employees would be required to continue working anyway because they are considered “essential.”
In recent days, some Republicans have indicated that letting funding lapse for DHS might not be all that problematic, but House Speaker John Boehner has rejected that notion.
"The goal here is not to run DHS out of money. The goal is to stop the president's overreach," Boehner told a news briefing.
If Boehner and his caucus continue to insist on the inclusion of anti-immigrant measures in the funding bill, DHS will indeed run out of money.