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On Friday afternoon, on the heels of the US Senate’s betrayal, the Republicans in the United States House of Representatives did what’s unfortunately become inevitable recently in Washington, D.C.; they capitulated to the desires of the lame-ducks and others in the Democrat Party, and helped pass the behemoth omnibus bill into law.

But there was a holdout on the Democrat side who voted “no” on the spending spree supported by Pelosi, Schumer, and Biden– New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The aberration was noted in my colleague Nick Arama’s reporting on the final tally in the lower house.

Arama wrote:

Now the $1.7 trillion monstrosity just passed the House, 225-201.

The Democrats voted for it except for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) who voted “no” and Rep. Rashida Tlaib who voted “present.”

But let’s stay focused on AOC. One strand lost in the Establishment’s holiday cheer over the bill’s passage was the reason the congresswoman voted the way she did. My colleague over at PJ Media, Ryan Ledendecker picks up the breadcrumb trail, while sharing Ocasio-Cortez’s self-important statement via the Twitters:

….[W]hy would she buck the Democratic Party’s last hurrah? Because besides all the stupid things the spending bill funds, it also happens to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Heaven forbid we fund the two agencies that actually need the extra funds to deal with the onslaught of illegals pouring across the border 24/7.

The Hill reported on just how much the increases were… and AOC’s “reasons” for standing against them:

The appropriations bill passed by Congress includes $8.42 billion for ICE, which is $161.1 million more than what was enacted in 2022 and $319.4 million more than what the president requested.

DHS received $86.5 billion in discretionary resources.

Ocasio-Cortez said the “dramatic increase” in spending for those two agencies “cut[s] against the promises our party has made to immigrant communities across the country,” adding that it is the case “especially in light of the lack of progress on DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals], TPS [Temporary Protected Status], and expanding paths to citizenship.”

But since it’s AOC, you know she was bound to slip up at some point. There was also this jubilant message to her followers and the wider, neo-Socialist masses: some goodies for unions and her district, which she sponsored, will be stuffed in Democrat stockings this Christmas, after all.

The congresswoman touted provisions included in the omnibus that she helped craft — including an increase in the National Labor Relations Board and funding for community projects in her district — but said she could not vote for them because of her overarching concerns with the bill.

Isn’t that rich? You can bemoan that monies are going towards securing our nation’s border (something which, as a congressperson, you’ve sworn an oath to defend), then jump for joy about more monies for your union buddies and — not making this up here — putting in place junk legislation like the “Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.”

The fact is, when you’re on the left, you’re allowed to have it both ways. Merry Christmas, huh?

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