WASHINGTON – This past Monday, Illinois Senator Mark Kirk refused to sign onto an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court, challenging President Obama's executive amnesty programs.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell led 42 Senate Republicans – including well-known Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham, Mike Lee and John McCain - in supporting the 26 states trying to legally block Obama's efforts.
The Supreme Court took up the states' case, U.S. v. Texas, after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals last November affirmed a preliminary injunction blocking the Obama administration from moving forward with implementing the DAPA and expanded DACA amnesty programs. The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on April 18 and expected to issue a ruling in June.
In the amicus brief, the senators argue that President Obama's use of executive action to grant de facto amnesty to millions of illegal aliens "stands in stark contravention to federal law and the constitutional principle of the separation of powers." They add that the president's executive overreach was an "explicit effort to circumvent the legislative process."
Majority Leader McConnell's effort to file an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff-states did not unanimous support from the Senate Republican Conference. Out of the 54-member conference, 43 senators signed the amicus brief, while 11 decided not to take a stand against amnesty and the administration's usurpation of power only entrusted to the legislative body in which they serve.
The 43 Senate Republicans who joined the amicus brief are Senators Alexander, Barrasso, Blunt, Boozman, Capito, Cassidy, Coats, Cochran, Corker, Cornyn, Cotton, Crapo, Cruz, Daines, Enzi, Fischer, Graham, Grassley, Hatch, Hoeven, Inhofe, Isakson, Johnson, Lankford, Lee, McCain, McConnell, Moran, Paul, Perdue, Risch, Roberts, Rounds, Rubio, Sasse, Scott, Sessions, Shelby, Sullivan, Thune, Tillis, Vitter, and Wicker.
The 11 Senate Republicans who did not join the amicus brief are Senators Ayotte, Burr, Collins, Ernst, Flake, Gardner, Heller, Kirk, Murkowski, Portman, and Toomey.
