Missouri Republicans urge McCaskill to vote for DHS bill

Republican members of the House Missouri delegation on Tuesday urged Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) to “reconsider” her votes to filibuster a Department of Homeland Security funding bill with provisions to revoke President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

In a letter to McCaskill, Missouri Republican Reps. Vicky Hartzler, Sam Graves, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jason Smith and Ann Wagner argued McCaskill of hypocrisy, noting she previously criticized President Obama’s unilateral action.

{mosads}They pointed to McCaskill’s reaction to the president’s actions in November when she said, “Our immigration system is broken, and I support a comprehensive plan to fix it, but executive orders aren’t the way to do it.”

In the same statement, McCaskill said that “Republicans in the U.S. House have sat on their hands for a year-and-a-half, refusing to even consider” the Senate’s 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill.

“Many other Democratic senators have also publicly stated that they oppose the President’s unilateral actions. We urge you to stop protecting the president’s unconstitutional actions, and vote to fund a Department tasked with keeping Americans safe,” the Missouri Republicans wrote.

The GOP lawmakers further suggested that McCaskill vote to at least proceed to the House-passed DHS funding bill and offer amendments.

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.] has offered an agreement to Senate Democrats for an equitable amendment process. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to offer constructive ideas that improve the underlying bill, and protect America’s national security,” they wrote.

McCaskill isn’t the only Democratic senator to receive a personalized missive from House GOP state colleagues. Last week, GOP members of the Indiana delegation wrote a letter to Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) calling on him to similarly “reconsider” his votes in opposition to the House-passed DHS funding bill.

The Senate will vote for a fourth time to proceed to the measure when it returns from recess next Monday. It is expected to fall short of the necessary 60 votes to advance, just like the other three previous votes this month.

Funding for DHS expires on Feb. 27.