On Wednesday Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) refused to vote in support of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency within the Department of Homeland Security.
Both of Tennessee’s two Democrat members of the U.S. House of Representatives cast a “present” ballot, rather than a clear “yes” or “no” when a resolution in support of ICE passed in a 244-35-133 vote late Wednesday.
Only 18 Democrats voted in favor of the resolution, while 34 voted against it, and 133 voted “present.”
“House lawmakers voted for a resolution Wednesday that supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and explicitly condemns Democrats’ calls to abolish the agency,” the Daily Caller reported:
Members voted 244-35-133 Wednesday afternoon in favor of a resolution GOP Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana sponsored that both decries Democrats’ push to do away with ICE and calls for congressional support for the agency.
The majority of House Democrats — 133 — voted “present,” with the remainder split. Eighteen Democrats voted in favor the bill and 35 voted against it. One Republican, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, voted with Democrats against the bill.
Democrats voted “present” in protest of what they deemed a political stunt on the part of Republicans, who they claim have spent months failing to address the nation’s immigration problems, like the separation of children from their parents that immigrated to the U.S. illegally and its officials. Republicans brought the measure to the floor under an expedited procedure, known as suspension of the rules, which allowed the chamber to pass it with a two-thirds majority.
Cohen has been in the news a great deal in the past week.
Last week, he was widely criticized for telling anti-Trump FBI lovebird Peter Strzok that “If I could give you a Purple Heart, I would” at Congressional hearings.
Then earlier this week, he sent out a controversial tweet that many believed was a call for a military coup against President Trump.
