Five Republicans vote against suing Obama

Five House Republicans defected from their ranks on the Wednesday vote to authorize the party’s lawsuit against President Obama.

Reps. Paul Broun (Ga.), Scott Garrett (N.J.), Walter Jones (N.C.), Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Steve Stockman (Texas) all voted against the resolution authorizing the GOP lawsuit against the president for his use of executive power.

{mosads}Broun, Stockman and Jones have all indicated support for impeaching President Obama. Jones told The Hill he didn’t think the lawsuit went far enough.

A Broun spokeswoman said he voted against the bill because he didn’t think it would truly help limit President Obama’s executive power.

“Dr. Broun believes that this legislation – while well-intentioned – is doomed for death in the Senate. As a result, he would rather see House leadership work towards practical solutions which would shrink the size and scope of government and cut wasteful federal spending when it comes to stopping the president’s gross overreach of executive power,” Broun spokeswoman Christine Hardman said.

Spokespeople for Garrett and Massie did not respond to requests for comment.

No Democrats voted for the resolution. A handful of vulnerable Democrats typically break with their party on major issues, such as holding former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress. But House Democrats held the party line this time.