Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), one of the most vulnerable Democrats running for re-election in 2024, voted against the Laken-Riley amendment in March. , has changed its position on the law.
Tester announced Thursday that he supports the Republican-led bill passed by the House in March, ABC News. report.
Tim Sheehy, a Republican running for Rep. Tester’s seat, criticized X after Democrats announced their support for the bill, writing, “Flip-flop flattop strikes again!”
🚨 🚨 The flip-flop flat top is back! 🚨 🚨
The Senate recently rejected the Laken-Reilly Act by a single vote. @JonTester‘s.
Tester’s reversal proves he only cares about his next term.
The most corrupt and two-faced career politician in America! #Retire as a tester https://t.co/T2ZRxPsspg
— Tim Sheehy (@SheehyforMT) May 9, 2024
“The Senate recently rejected the Laken Riley Act by one vote — @jontester’s,” he emphasized.
“Tester’s reversal proves he is only thinking about his next term,” he added. “The most corrupt, two-faced career politician in this country!”
The bill, named after a 22-year-old University of Georgia student who was allegedly killed by an illegal alien who had previously been cited for shoplifting, would require the Department of Homeland Security to It requires the arrest, indictment, and prosecution of persons. A person convicted and detained for robbery, theft, theft, or shoplifting.
Jose Antonio Ibarra (right) is accused of kidnapping and killing Laken Riley (left) on February 22, 2024, during a morning jog near the University of Georgia. (Laken Riley/Facebook, Clark County Sheriff’s Office)
But in March, Tester voted against an amendment that would have added “language similar to that found in the Laken-Riley Act” to the government funding law. independent record report.
ABC News’ Alison Pechorin writes:
Although Tester voted in lockstep with his Democratic colleagues at the time to reject the bill he was currently co-sponsoring, a spokesperson for his office told local media at the time that if the bill were to be introduced with a majority vote, a spokesperson for his office told local media at the time. He said he would have supported it if it had been done. -Single measurement.
The vote came amid threats of a possible government shutdown.
“Had the Laken-Reilly Amendment passed, the bill would have had to return to the House for a vote, which would have triggered a partial government shutdown.” independent record It was reported in late April.
Fox News reported the following, citing three anonymous Republican sources: report At the time, Tester was “specifically opposed to being recorded in the Laken-Riley Act.”
JL Partners poll conducted after Tester I voted It turned out that the majority voted against the amendment, falling behind Sheehy by a margin of 48% to 45%.head was Within the error range of ± 4.3%, independent record. The poll was conducted between March 26 and 29, 2024 among 503 likely voters.
National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Maggie Abboud condemned Tester’s sudden change in position in an emailed release.
“Jon Tester’s support for Joe Biden’s open borders policy is hurting his re-election campaign so much that he’s flipping out. Montanans can’t trust two-sided Tester,” she said. Ta.
