Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
These Senators, including Senator Hatch had an opportunity to back up their rhetoric with action when Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) raised a "point of order" challenging the constitutionality of the president's executive action while the Senate debated the 2015 spending bill.
While 21 other Senators stood up and voted with Senator Cruz, 28 Senators who had previously come out against executive amnesty voted in favor of fully funding it.
In an interview after the president announced his plans for executive amnesty, Senator Hatch said the following statement:
He does not have the authority and the power to do what he is doing. … it’s not constitutional … You don’t solve this problem by mis-using the Constitution. The President 22 times has said he doesn’t have this kind of authority.
For a full list of U.S. Senators who voted for and against the Senator Cruz's point of order, see the roll call vote.
