In standing with House Speaker John Boehner on Friday to (temporarily) avert the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, Colorado's new Republican congressman, Ken Buck, has apparently had second thoughts about his pledge to shut down DHS if necessary to stop Obama from allowing some immigrants to avoid deportation.
Asked by KLZ's Randy Corporon in January whether he would resist "public pressure and media assaults" and refuse to fund DHS along with Obama's immigration program, Buck said, "I can tell you this: Ken Buck will. I will make the case, and I will make sure that we are not funding those portions of his executive action that are so repugnant."
But Obama's immigration programs, the largest of which delays deportation of immigrants with children who are U.S. citizens or legal residents, are funded by DHS. So the only way to defund them is for Congress to strip money out of the DHS budget. But this proved impossible, as the U.S. Senate balked at the idea, leaving Buck the choice of either funding DHS with Obama's programs in it or voting to shut down DHS altogether.
Backing an idea supported by House Speaker John Boehner, Buck elected to fund DHS fully for three weeks. Ultimately a Buck-supported bill passed the House providing funds for just week.
So Buck will be in the hot seat again this week as the matter is debated again. Friday is the deadline for a vote.
Buck's support of Boehner goes against sentiments he expressed in another interview, delivered to KFKA guest host Nancy Rumfelt in January. In it, Buck pledged to stand firm against any moderating winds that might emanate from House Speaker John Boehner:
Speaker and the leadership team know that they cannot count on me when they move to the middle, that I will be voting against leadership's efforts in certain areas, especially is true when it comes to the fiscal issues, the appropriations bills and the regulatory issues. And I include Obamacare in that. But absolutely. The people in the 4th Congressional District can count on Ken Buck to be with the conservative votes when it comes to the bills that are coming up in the future
Colorado Springs' Doug Lamborn did what Buck said he'd do, when Lamborn voted against temporary funds for DHS. "I cannot support funding, even for a short period of time, the President's unlawful executive action that violates the Constitution," Lamborn said in a statement, reported by the Denver Post.