DHS funding recognizes political reality

Good for the U.S. House for ending the political theater and passing a clean funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. All four members of the Kansas delegation voted against the bill, even though Reps. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, and Lynn Jenkins, R-Topeka, voted last week for a temporary extension of funding. The lawmakers object to President Obama’s order protecting about 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation. But the GOP doesn’t have enough votes in the Senate to pass a bill linking DHS funding to a repeal of Obama’s order. As a Wall Street Journal editorial noted, the fight came down to “recognizing political reality or marching off a cliff to almost certain failure.” – Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published March 4, 2015 at 12:34 PM.