Alexander, Blackburn cast different votes

U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Marsha Blackburn cast different votes on Thursday on a plan from Democrats to end the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government.

The upper chamber took up two separate measures Thursday afternoon aimed at ending the shutdown, which has lasted 34 days.

On the first vote, the chamber considered President Donald Trump’s plan to reopen the government. The president’s proposal, among other things, would have provided $5.7 billion toward his effort to build a

wall along the southern border of the United States.

But Democrats opposed the measure due to the fact that it provided only temporary protections for some immigrants and because it would have made it more difficult for those seeking asylum in the United States.

The president’s proposal failed to generate the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate. Both Blackburn and Alexander voted in favor of the measure.

Minutes later, the chamber took up a separate proposal advanced by Democrats that would have funded the federal government through Feb. 8, while providing disaster relief funding but no money for a border wall.

ALEXANDER VOTES YES ON BOTH MEASURES

When it came time to weigh in on that proposal, Alexander voted yes, while Blackburn said no. Alexander was one of six Republicans to vote yes on the measure. He was joined by Johnny Isakeson of Georgia, Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah.

Like the president’s proposal, the Democrats’ proposal failed to get the necessary 60 votes.

After the vote, Alexander sent out a statement explaining his votes.

“I voted twice today to open the government because it should never have been shut down,” he said. “It is always wrong for either side to use shutting down the government as a bargaining chip in budget negotiations – it should be as off-limits as chemical weapons are to warfare.”

The ongoing shutdown has forced Tennessee to adjust to the uncertainty in Washington. Gov. Bill Lee has said on multiple occasions recently that he is still assessing the impact of the shutdown.

Tennessee and other states around the country distributed benefits of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program early this month because of the shutdown.

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@ tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.

“I voted twice today to open the government because it should never have been shut down.” – LAMAR ALEXANDER, R-TENN.