Rep. Braun flip-flops on shutdowns despite claiming he’d have voted twice in a row to shut down the government; Joe Donnelly voted both times to keep it open
INDIANAPOLIS – Rep. Braun yesterday condemned senators who shut down the government, confusing observers who have watched him repeatedly claim he’d vote for government shutdowns while Joe Donnelly has voted in the Senate to keep it running.
While on a fundraising junket in Washington, Rep. Braun sent out a press release stating that senators should finish their upcoming appropriations bill or skip the August recess. The position is a sharp reversal for Rep. Braun, who’s made clear before that he has no problem with shutting down the government. At multiple instances during GOP primary debates, he stated that he would’ve voted to shut down the government instead of supporting the last two government funding bills.
Rep. Braun’s pro-shutdown tendencies should not come as a surprise considering that he told CNN that his favorite senators include Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT), both of whom are known for their histories of supporting government shutdowns.
Joe, meanwhile, voted for both of the 2018 funding bills Rep. Braun said he’d oppose. Indeed, Joe has never voted to shut down the government because he’s made clear that keeping the government functioning is one of the most basic duties of Congress.
“Coming just weeks after his latest showing of support for a government shutdown, it’s unclear if Rep. Braun’s latest statement is a show of alarming ignorance, blatant hypocrisy, or simply one more of the gaffes his campaign has become known for,” said Michael Feldman, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “If Rep. Braun can’t keep his position on funding the government straight, what other positions will he flip-flop on before this race is over?”
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