https://www.yahoo.com/news/shutdown-nears-record-why-republicans-110010559.html

President Donald Trump continues to crow about the unwavering support he says he has from Republicans to keep parts of the government closed until Democrats agree to fund a border wall.
"There is GREAT unity with the Republicans in the House and Senate, despite the F**e News Media working in overdrive to make the story look otherwise," the president tweeted Thursday.
But hours later a few more Republicans defected.

Eight House Republicans v**ed Wednesday to fund the Treasury Department where the IRS is gearing up for tax season. Ten v**ed Thursday to reopen the agencies that dispense food stamps, run agriculture assistance programs and inspect food and drugs. A dozen Republicans backed continuing funding for the departments of housing and t***sportation.
GOP Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., dismissed Thursday’s defections as “no surprises” and said that he wasn’t worried about losing support from his caucus.
“Our members want to secure the border. Obviously there are a few that aren’t there,” Scalise said during a briefing with reporters. “The vast majority of our conference strongly supports securing the border and strongly supports what the president is doing."

Democrats, who control the House, will continue to bring up legislation Friday to try to complete funding for the nine departments and several smaller agencies whose budgets ran out Dec. 22.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he will not even consider the bills in his chamber because T***p w*n't sign them.
The group of eight House Republicans who v**ed for all the bills so far includes:
One who represents more of the southern border than any other member of Congress: Texas Rep. Will Hurd.
Two who publicly refused to v**e for Trump: New York Rep. John Katko and Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Buetler.
Three who represent the only House districts won by Hillary Clinton that Republicans still hold: Hurd, Katko and Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.
Most have been willing to buck their party in the past, including on high-profile issues such as opposing GOP efforts to get rid of Obamacare.

But the group also includes lawmakers like New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has been a rising star in the GOP; Oregon Rep. Greg Walden who represents a district that T***p w*n by 19 percentage points; and Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, one of the most senior members of the House who has consistently v**ed with his party on national security issues.
Four other House Republicans – Rodney Davis of Illinois, Peter King of New York, Christopher Smith of New Jersey and Steve Stivers of Ohio – v**ed for some of the outstanding spending bills.

'Costly and unnecessary'
Fitzpatrick, a former FBI special agent and federal prosecutor representing a swing district in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania, was first elected in 2016 on a promise of bipartisanship.
In his first term, he sided with Democrats on about one-quarter of the v**es that split the two parties, including opposing Republicans' Obamacare alternative. Fitzpatrick's re-e******n bid, which he won with 51 percent of the v**e, was endorsed by the AFL-CIO and former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords, who advocates for gun control.
"Shutdowns are costly and unnecessary, and I will work with both sides to find a solution," Fitzpatrick said last week.
Shutdowns are 'ludicrous'

Herrera Beutler's 52.7 percent victory last fall was the fifth-term representative's closest race in her southwest Washington state district.
She's called the shutdown showdown "ludicrous."
"There’s a solution at hand, if politicians grow up, stop worrying about which side is 'winning' the political fight (spoiler alert: they’re both losing), and deliver results," she recently wrote.

Herrera Beutler, the daughter of a Mexican-American and the great-granddaughter of immigrants, was one of a few Republicans in 2016 to back a Democratic effort to encourage the Defense Department to welcome the service of some i*****l i*******ts who were brought into the country as children.
In the 2016 p**********l e******n, Herrera Beutler v**ed for Paul Ryan instead of Trump. She announced her decision after the release of the 2005 Access Hollywood videotape in which Trump bragged about groping women by their g*****ls.
Expensive and ineffective

Hurd has squeaked by in his three e******ns in a district dominated by Mexican-Americans. After opposing the border wall, Hurd won re-e******n in November by fewer than 1,000 v**es.
Hurd, whose Texas district encompasses nearly half of the border with Mexico, has called a wall "the most expensive, least effective way to do border security.”
"The thing that I’ve been hearing is they need technology, they need additional manpower," Hurd, a former undercover CIA agent, told NPR Thursday.


Fulfilling a promise
Katko was re-elected to a third term with 53 percent, his closest race yet in a predominately rural, swing district in New York that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.

Katko crosses party lines more often than most members of the House and is unafraid to do so on big issues. In addition to opposing the GOP health care bill in 2017, he took the rare step last week of v****g for Democrats' rules for governing the House. Katko did so because Democrats included changes to make it easier to advance bills with broad bipartisan support.
Katko said his v**es to fund the shuttered government agencies are consistent with a promise he made when he first ran for office "that I would never v**e to shut down the government or to continue a government shutdown."
"I am in favor of securing our borders," Katko tweeted, "but shutting down the government is never the answer."

Shutdowns are 'stupid'
Kinzinger was first elected to Congress from Illinois in the tea party-fueled e******n wave of 2010 that helped Republicans win the House. But he's accused tea party Republicans of making it harder for others to win competitive districts.
Kinzinger belongs to groups aimed at bringing together lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to forge bipartisan compromises. In 2015, he joined with Democrats to fund the Department of Homeland Security without including a GOP amendment to undo President Barack Obama's protections for young undocumented immigrants. The amendment would have kept the funding bill from passing the Senate.
"I think shutdowns are stupid," Kinzinger recently told CNN. "I think it's the dumbest way to do government in the world."
Willing to take party to task
Stefanik quickly became a rising star in the Republican Party when, at age 30, she became the then-youngest woman ever elected to Congress.

In November, Stefanik was re-elected to a third term in her upstate New York district with 56 percent of the v**e, after including a shot of Trump campaigning with her in one of her campaign ads. She was also in charge of recruiting candidates for House Republicans for last year's midterms. But after the e******n, Stefanik took her party to task for not doing enough to help elect women and minorities.

Stefanik said she's backed bills to fund shuttered government agencies because "I oppose government shutdowns and in Congress have consistently v**ed to keep the government open."
Taking the 'poison out of politics'
Upton's re-e******n bid for a 17th term was his closest ever, winning with just about half the v**es in his southwestern corner of Michigan.

Although Upton helped organize a "Tuesday Lunch Bunch" for Republicans to discuss a centrist agenda, his v****g record has been mostly conservative, according to Congressional Quarterly.
But after his close re-e******n, Upton called for looking beyond the labels of Democrat and Republican to "take this poison out of politics."
On the government shutdown, Upton said he will continue to work with others to both fully fund the government and secure the border.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/shutdown-nears-record-why-republicans-110010559.html

President Donald Trump continues to crow about the unwavering support he says he has from Republicans to keep parts of the government closed until Democrats agree to fund a border wall.
"There is GREAT unity with the Republicans in the House and Senate, despite the F**e News Media working in overdrive to make the story look otherwise," the president tweeted Thursday.
But hours later a few more Republicans defected.

Eight House Republicans v**ed Wednesday to fund the Treasury Department where the IRS is gearing up for tax season. Ten v**ed Thursday to reopen the agencies that dispense food stamps, run agriculture assistance programs and inspect food and drugs. A dozen Republicans backed continuing funding for the departments of housing and t***sportation.
GOP Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., dismissed Thursday’s defections as “no surprises” and said that he wasn’t worried about losing support from his caucus.
“Our members want to secure the border. Obviously there are a few that aren’t there,” Scalise said during a briefing with reporters. “The vast majority of our conference strongly supports securing the border and strongly supports what the president is doing."

Democrats, who control the House, will continue to bring up legislation Friday to try to complete funding for the nine departments and several smaller agencies whose budgets ran out Dec. 22.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he will not even consider the bills in his chamber because T***p w*n't sign them.
The group of eight House Republicans who v**ed for all the bills so far includes:
One who represents more of the southern border than any other member of Congress: Texas Rep. Will Hurd.
Two who publicly refused to v**e for Trump: New York Rep. John Katko and Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Buetler.
Three who represent the only House districts won by Hillary Clinton that Republicans still hold: Hurd, Katko and Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.
Most have been willing to buck their party in the past, including on high-profile issues such as opposing GOP efforts to get rid of Obamacare.

But the group also includes lawmakers like New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has been a rising star in the GOP; Oregon Rep. Greg Walden who represents a district that T***p w*n by 19 percentage points; and Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, one of the most senior members of the House who has consistently v**ed with his party on national security issues.
Four other House Republicans – Rodney Davis of Illinois, Peter King of New York, Christopher Smith of New Jersey and Steve Stivers of Ohio – v**ed for some of the outstanding spending bills.

'Costly and unnecessary'
Fitzpatrick, a former FBI special agent and federal prosecutor representing a swing district in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania, was first elected in 2016 on a promise of bipartisanship.
In his first term, he sided with Democrats on about one-quarter of the v**es that split the two parties, including opposing Republicans' Obamacare alternative. Fitzpatrick's re-e******n bid, which he won with 51 percent of the v**e, was endorsed by the AFL-CIO and former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords, who advocates for gun control.
"Shutdowns are costly and unnecessary, and I will work with both sides to find a solution," Fitzpatrick said last week.
Shutdowns are 'ludicrous'

Herrera Beutler's 52.7 percent victory last fall was the fifth-term representative's closest race in her southwest Washington state district.
She's called the shutdown showdown "ludicrous."
"There’s a solution at hand, if politicians grow up, stop worrying about which side is 'winning' the political fight (spoiler alert: they’re both losing), and deliver results," she recently wrote.

Herrera Beutler, the daughter of a Mexican-American and the great-granddaughter of immigrants, was one of a few Republicans in 2016 to back a Democratic effort to encourage the Defense Department to welcome the service of some i*****l i*******ts who were brought into the country as children.
In the 2016 p**********l e******n, Herrera Beutler v**ed for Paul Ryan instead of Trump. She announced her decision after the release of the 2005 Access Hollywood videotape in which Trump bragged about groping women by their g*****ls.
Expensive and ineffective

Hurd has squeaked by in his three e******ns in a district dominated by Mexican-Americans. After opposing the border wall, Hurd won re-e******n in November by fewer than 1,000 v**es.
Hurd, whose Texas district encompasses nearly half of the border with Mexico, has called a wall "the most expensive, least effective way to do border security.”
"The thing that I’ve been hearing is they need technology, they need additional manpower," Hurd, a former undercover CIA agent, told NPR Thursday.


Fulfilling a promise
Katko was re-elected to a third term with 53 percent, his closest race yet in a predominately rural, swing district in New York that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.

Katko crosses party lines more often than most members of the House and is unafraid to do so on big issues. In addition to opposing the GOP health care bill in 2017, he took the rare step last week of v****g for Democrats' rules for governing the House. Katko did so because Democrats included changes to make it easier to advance bills with broad bipartisan support.
Katko said his v**es to fund the shuttered government agencies are consistent with a promise he made when he first ran for office "that I would never v**e to shut down the government or to continue a government shutdown."
"I am in favor of securing our borders," Katko tweeted, "but shutting down the government is never the answer."

Shutdowns are 'stupid'
Kinzinger was first elected to Congress from Illinois in the tea party-fueled e******n wave of 2010 that helped Republicans win the House. But he's accused tea party Republicans of making it harder for others to win competitive districts.
Kinzinger belongs to groups aimed at bringing together lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to forge bipartisan compromises. In 2015, he joined with Democrats to fund the Department of Homeland Security without including a GOP amendment to undo President Barack Obama's protections for young undocumented immigrants. The amendment would have kept the funding bill from passing the Senate.
"I think shutdowns are stupid," Kinzinger recently told CNN. "I think it's the dumbest way to do government in the world."
Willing to take party to task
Stefanik quickly became a rising star in the Republican Party when, at age 30, she became the then-youngest woman ever elected to Congress.

In November, Stefanik was re-elected to a third term in her upstate New York district with 56 percent of the v**e, after including a shot of Trump campaigning with her in one of her campaign ads. She was also in charge of recruiting candidates for House Republicans for last year's midterms. But after the e******n, Stefanik took her party to task for not doing enough to help elect women and minorities.

Stefanik said she's backed bills to fund shuttered government agencies because "I oppose government shutdowns and in Congress have consistently v**ed to keep the government open."
Taking the 'poison out of politics'
Upton's re-e******n bid for a 17th term was his closest ever, winning with just about half the v**es in his southwestern corner of Michigan.

Although Upton helped organize a "Tuesday Lunch Bunch" for Republicans to discuss a centrist agenda, his v****g record has been mostly conservative, according to Congressional Quarterly.
But after his close re-e******n, Upton called for looking beyond the labels of Democrat and Republican to "take this poison out of politics."
On the government shutdown, Upton said he will continue to work with others to both fully fund the government and secure the border.