You can either call this a procedural trick or a fracturing of the Democratic majority in the House. Either way, the new background check bill that passed in the House yesterday wound up including an amendment that requires ICE to be notified when an illegal alien attempts to purchase a firearm in the United States. The amendment to the bill was added via a motion to recommit. This procedure allows the minority to introduce an amendment after the bill is finalized but before the Speaker calls for a full floor vote. It didn’t pass by much, but some of the new crop of Democratic freshmen helped push it over the finish line.
Amazingly, despite this being an obviously good idea, more than 200 Democrats voted against it anyway. (They defeated the same amendment in February when the bill was approved in the House Judiciary Committee.) But in a development that highlights some cracks in the Democratic leadership, 26 of their members voted for it. You can see the full list at the Daily Caller. Of the 26 defectors, all but four were from districts Trump carried in 2016 and 18 of them were elected last year. One example is Democrat Anthony Brindisi (NY-22) who barely managed to replace Republican Claudia Tenney in a race that was still being counted weeks after election day.
You can either call this a procedural trick or a fracturing of the Democratic majority in the House. Either way, the new background check bill that passed in the House yesterday wound up including an amendment that requires ICE to be notified when an illegal alien attempts to purchase a firearm in the United States. The amendment to the bill was added via a motion to recommit. This procedure allows the minority to introduce an amendment after the bill is finalized but before the Speaker calls for a full floor vote. It didn’t pass by much, but some of the new crop of Democratic freshmen helped push it over the finish line.
Amazingly, despite this being an obviously good idea, more than 200 Democrats voted against it anyway. (They defeated the same amendment in February when the bill was approved in the House Judiciary Committee.) But in a development that highlights some cracks in the Democratic leadership, 26 of their members voted for it. You can see the full list at the Daily Caller. Of the 26 defectors, all but four were from districts Trump carried in 2016 and 18 of them were elected last year. One example is Democrat Anthony Brindisi (NY-22) who barely managed to replace Republican Claudia Tenney in a race that was still being counted weeks after election day.
What a cool day when 214 Republicans vote for a background check bill.
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