Ocasio-Cortez breaks with Dems, votes against bill to reopen gov't because it would fund ICE

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the only Democrat to vote against a House funding bill Wednesday, citing funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the reason for her opposition, according to The Hill.

It was the 10th funding measure the House as voted on, and would fund the government through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

"Most of our votes are pretty straightforward, but today was a tough/nuanced call," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Instagram. "We didn't vote with the party because one of the spending bills included ICE funding and our community felt strongly about not funding that"

Ocasio-Cortez was previously criticized by some on the left for voting for a funding bill earlier this month that would've funded ICE. She has in the past questioned "why we are funding [ICE] at all."

The bill still passed the Democratic-majority House 234-180. Ten Republicans voted in favor of it.

Does it really matter?

At this point, the repeated passing of funding bills in the House is just a matter of going through the motions, because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made it clear the bills won't be voted on in the Senate.

Predictably, McConnell blocked Wednesday's measure after Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) requested the Senate take it up for a vote.

The Senate will vote Thursday on bills that could reopen the government. One of the bills includes Trump's requested $5.7 million border wall funding in exchange for three years of protection for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and some immigrants who are under Temporary Protected Status.

That bill would need some unexpected Democratic support to get the necessary 60 votes to pass. If it fails, The Senate will vote on a bill to fund the government at current levels through Feb. 8.