AOC Only Democrat to Vote ‘No’ on $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Bill

Brittany Bernstein
·3 min read
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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) was the lone Democrat to vote “no” on the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that passed the House in a 225–201–1 vote on Friday.

Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow progressive “Squad” member Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) voted “present.” Both of the liberal lawmakers voted by proxy.

The New York Democrat explained her vote in a statement Friday afternoon: “I campaigned on a promise to my constituents: to oppose additional expansion and funding for ICE and DHS — particularly in the absence of long-overdue immigration reform. For that reason, as well as the dramatic increase in defense spending which exceeds even President Biden’s request, I voted no on today’s omnibus bill.” 

The massive spending bill, which is more than 4,000 pages long, allocates $8.42 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement — $319.4 million more than what President Biden requested. The measure also includes $86.5 billion in discretionary resources for the Department of Homeland Security.

Border patrol agents have been slammed by an influx of migrants crossing the U.S.–Mexico border since President Biden took office, with the number of crossings rising 37 percent last fiscal year over the year prior for a total of 2.38 million migrant encounters.

“The dramatic increase in DHS and ICE spending — especially in light of the lack of progress on [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals], [Temporary Protected Status], and expanding paths to citizenship — cut against the promises our party has made to immigrant communities across the country,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

She also criticized the choice to use a single omnibus package to fund the government rather than appropriations bills for each agency.

“From the beginning of this negotiation, we made clear to Democratic leadership that we must keep the practice of voting on funding bills by agency — particularly controversial agencies like DHS — so that Members would not be forced to betray one part of their district in service of expediency,” she said. “We were successful in this approach last year, and looked forward to supporting such a package this year.”

However, in a post on Instagram, the progressive congresswoman separately lauded the passage of the bill because it will provide funding for 15 projects that will benefit her constituents in the Bronx and Queens.

“After selecting 15 projects, we brought these projects to D.C. to lobby for the support our communities deserve,” she said. “Now, funding for these projects has finally passed out of the House and the Senate, and will be signed into law by President Biden!”

The bill passed the House with the support of nine Republicans: Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Rodney Davis of Illinois, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, Chris Jacobs of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, John Katko of New York, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Fred Upton of Michigan, and Steve Womack of Arkansas.

The Senate on Thursday voted 68–29 to pass the massive spending bill, with bipartisan support. After passing the House on Friday, the bill will head to President Biden’s desk for final approval.

However, many Republicans in the House and Senate criticized the size of the more than 4,000-page bill: Senator Rick Scott (R., Fla.) said, “It’s three times the size of the Bible. It’s Democrats’ spending.”

House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy called the bill a “monstrosity” and “one of the most shameful acts I’ve ever seen in this body” while speaking on the House floor on Friday.

He said Christmas is the “season of giving,” but “in Congress, it appears the season of giving will line the pockets of Democrat special interests and stick hard-working Americans with the tab. That’s what this omnibus does.”

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