Rather than risk shutting down critical operations at the Department of Homeland Security, House Republicans threw in the towel Tuesday afternoon and passed a clean bill to keep the agency running – no strings attached. The final 257-167 vote marked an end to congressional Republican efforts to use DHS funding as leverage against President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. The bill now heads to Obama’s desk, and he is expected to sign the measure. With his back up against a wall and funding for the critical government agency set to run dry by Friday at midnight, Boehner alerted the House GOP conference during a closed door session Tuesday that the lower chamber would vote on the clean bill. Boehner’s announcement was met with dead silence from the room, NBC News reported. “I am as outraged and frustrated as you at the lawless and unconstitutional actions of this president,” Boehner told his caucus, according to NBC News. “I believe this decision – considering where we are – is the right one for this team, and the right one for this country.” Read more http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/boehner-call-vote-clean-dhs-funding-bill
