Rep. Marsha Blackburn said Friday that she voted no on the Tropical Storm Harvey relief package because it wasn’t a clean bill.
“I felt like the Harvey and Irma relief, all of these packages, should stand alone, and not be coupled, or have a debt ceiling put on them, or a CR put on them. So I would have preferred to see these as stand-alone votes,” Ms. Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, said on Fox News.
She said that she voted for the initial hurricane relief package, but that she couldn’t vote for the final bill, which included an extension of the debt ceiling. President Trump made the deal with Democratic leaders on Wednesday to tie the issues together in order to get them done faster. She added that she understands why the president made that decision.
“I think he felt like he was clearing the decks so he could move on to tax reform, and health care, and infrastructure, and broadband, and I appreciate why he did it. I understand his frustration,” she said.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.