Eighteen Republican United States senators voted with Democrats to pass the 4,155-page, $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill and send it to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi hopes to pass it before Christmas.
The massive legislative package, released just days ago, passed the Senate by a 68-29 margin on Thursday afternoon with the help of 18 Republicans. Those 18 senators were:
- Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
- Sen. John Boozman (R-AR)
- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
- Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
- Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
- Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
- Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD)
- Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL)
- Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
- Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS)
- Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)
Three Republican senators — John Barrasso (R-WY), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) — were not there to vote on the titanic piece of legislation.
The massive $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill, which would fund the government through September 2023, is likely to be the last piece of legislation this Congress will vote on, as members will probably not come back this year after they leave for Christmas. In January, when Congress comes back in session, Republicans will take control of the House, which will undoubtedly make it harder for Democrats to pass significant legislation.
The Senate-passed legislation is riddled with thousands of earmarks, which lawmakers add to bills to advance their own narrow political priorities. The Congressional Research Service defines earmarks as spending provisions that are included in bills to benefit “a specific entity or state, locality, or congressional district other than through a statutory or administrative formula or competitive award process.”
Ultimately, they allow lawmakers to put “pork” in bills to fund projects in their districts — which could also be used to reward their donors and special interests.
As Breitbart News’ Sean Moran wrote on Tuesday, the legislation gives $45 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine, which — added to the $66 billion lawmakers have already approved for that purpose — brings the sum of American taxpayers’ dollars going to the country to over $110 billion.
Reportedly, American taxpayers have given more aid to Ukraine in 2022 than was sent to Afghanistan, Israel, and Egypt combined in 2020.
The enormous spending bill also designates a part of the national capital as a Ukrainian Independence Park. The park would “include information on the importance of the independence, freedom, and sovereignty of Ukraine and the solidarity between the people of Ukraine and the United States.”
On Thursday morning, former President Donald Trump — who has already declared he is running for president — said in a video that everyone should “vote no” on the “ludicrous, unacceptable” omnibus bill that is “crammed with left-wing disasters, Washington betrayals, and special interest sellouts.”
“Every single Republican should vote no on the ludicrous, unacceptable $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill. It’s a disaster for our country. And it also happens to be a disaster for the Republican Party because they can stop it,” Trump explained in a video released on Truth Social.
