Gardner Said He'd 'Vote For Both Options' To Open The Government
WASHINGTON, DC (CBS4) - Sen. Cory Gardner said he would break ranks with his party and vote for the Democratic plan to re-open the government -- but he's not giving up on the border wall. Colorado's junior senator released a statement Thursday saying he would also vote the Republican-backed proposal to end the government shutdown and provide $5.7 billion for President Donald Trump's promised border wall.
"I will vote for both options to fund the remaining parts of the government and fund border security," Gardner stated. "I've consistently been against government shutdowns because I don't think they are the right way to govern."
RELATED: Sen. Michael Bennet Rips Cruz's 'Crocodile Tears' Over Shutdown
Both measures fell short of the 60 votes they would have needed to move forward in the upper chamber. The final vote tally for the GOP backed proposal was 50-47. The tally for the Democratic proposal was 52-44. Both would have needed 60 votes to advance.
Six Republicans voted for the Democratic-backed proposal: Senators Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins, Cory Gardner, Lisa Murkowski, Johnny Isakson and Mitt Romney
A handful of senators broke ranks with their party in the vote for the GOP-backed proposal. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin voted yes on the Trump shutdown proposal, as he had said he would. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton voted no, as did Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican.
Related: Cory Gardner, Other GOP Senators, Try To Figure How Closely To Run With Trump
There's still no clear consensus between Democrats and Republicans over how to end the longest shutdown in US history.
Gardner has voiced his opposition to the shutdown since the beginning - and has proposed legislation to start paying federal works even as the shutdown continues.
"Our federal workers should not be deprived of their paychecks, which is why I'm introducing legislation that pays federal workers and provides peace of mind for our 800,000 government employees who are struggling to make ends meet," he tweeted on Wednesday.
"I will continue to work with a bipartisan group of Senators to find a compromise that opens the government and funds border security," Gardner stated Thursday.
Gardner is up for re-election in 2020.
Progress on ongoing flood recovery efforts in Boulder and Larimer counties has stopped due to the federal government shutdown. The Longmont Daily Times-Call reports Gardner and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) have asked Ben Carson and Brock Long, respective heads of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Federal Emergency Management Agency, to consider the impact of the shutdown when deciding whether to approve deadline extensions for projects. The damage stems from flooding in 2013.
Meetings between local government officials and FEMA and HUD staff have been cancelled because federal workers have been furloughed without pay.
That cancellation has stopped reimbursements from the agencies for work the counties funded up front.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report. CNN contributed to this report.)
