GOP rep says he doesn’t expect any more Republicans to break ranks in shutdown fight

Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.) on Thursday that he did not expect any more House Republicans to side with Democrats to reopen portions of the federal government after eight Republicans broke ranks on Wednesday to voted with Democrats to reopen the Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service, and Small Business Administration.

“No, I don’t believe so,” Mitchell told Hill.TV’s Kyrstal Ball and Buck Sexton whether he believed any other Republicans would break ranks with the party. 

“I am part of the whip team. We’re going through and talking with members about where they’re at on that, and the reality is, I don’t think we’ll see any significant additional number of Republicans, maybe a few, that will change their mind about this,” he continued. 

“They’re pretty unified that we need to address the wall as a part of a border package. It’s not that hard to do,” he said. 

The Republicans who voted to advance Wednesday’s measure included Reps. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Will Hurd (Texas), Fred Upton (Mich.), John Katko (N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Greg Walden (Ore.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Herrera Beutler (Wash.).

Despite some Republican support in the House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has maintained the Upper Chamber will not take up any spending legislation to end the shutdown unless President Trump has agreed to sign it.

The legislation comes as Republicans and Democrats struggle to find common ground on a border security package in order to reopen parts of the federal government. 

Trump has dug in on his request for more than $5 billion in funding for a barrier on the border while Democrats have offered $1.3 billion in border security funding.