Tea party and conservative groups lauded Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for his battle to strip provisions to fund President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration from the $1.1 trillion spending bill that the Senate passed late Saturday to keep the government operating through next year.
"NumbersUSA absolutely supports Senator Cruz's efforts to stand up for American workers and the Constitution," Rosemary Jenks, the organization's director of government relations, told Newsmax. The group seeks to reduce the number of legal and illegal immigrants in the United States.
"American wages are stagnant or declining, and millions of Americans are unable to find a full-time job," Jenks said.
"The president's unconstitutional amnesty will only make this situation significantly worse," she said. "Every senator should care enough about American workers and defending the constitution to work through one weekend."
Erich Pratt, communications director for the Gun Owners of America, singled out both Cruz and Utah Sen. Mike Lee for their resistance to the immigration orders. Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions also called for the provisions to be removed from the funding bill.
The Senate passed the bill, sending it to President Obama. He was expected to sign it before an extension of the current funding runs out on Wednesday.
"Thank goodness there are two senators who got the message from the November elections that 'we the people' want the Obama 'genie' put back in the bottle," Pratt told Newsmax.
"The president’s illegal executive amnesty begins the process of legalizing millions of new anti-gun voters. While a majority of Americans oppose this, gun owners in particular don’t want to see illegal aliens being used to begin the Californization of the entire country."
Cruz came under strong attack by Republicans and some Democrats for
his opposition during a floor speech Friday night.
The objections scuttled an informal bipartisan deal that would have given the senators the weekend off, with plans to vote on the measure early next week. The House approved the measure on a 219-206 vote on Thursday.
"Washington, D.C., continues to remain deaf to the American people," he said on Friday. "The president's executive amnesty is unlawful and unconstitutional."
He reiterated his position on Twitter Saturday:
However, Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid responded to the criticism by scheduling a rare Saturday session for the chamber, during which he pushed through procedural votes to start the confirmation process for 24 nominees by President Obama for judicial and administrative positions.
The $1.1 trillion spending bill funds nearly all of the government through the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30. That excludes the Department of Homeland Security, which is financed only until Feb. 27.
Republicans plan to force the president to roll back his immigration orders granting deportation relief and work permits to as many as 6 million illegals that he announced in a Nov. 20 speech on cable television.
Cruz was broadly attacked by both Republicans and Democrats. He is weighing a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
In the debate leading up to Saturday's final vote, he and Lee had eventually obtained a vote on the constitutionality of Obama's executive orders. However, it lost badly 22-74 — and even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted against it.
"If you believe President Obama's amnesty is unconstitutional, vote yes," Cruz said. "If you believe President Obama's amnesty is consistent with the Constitution, vote no."
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rebutted instantly, saying Cruz was "wrong, wrong, wrong on several counts," and other Republicans who opposed Obama's policy abandoned the first-term senator.
Still, conservative groups praised Cruz and the other senators for their efforts.
"We strongly support Sens. Sessions, Cruz, and Lee as they fight to ensure that the Congress does not appropriate funds for an unlawful, unconstitutional order," said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, before the final vote. "We urge their colleagues to join them in that fight.
"This is not a fight about amnesty; this is a fight over whether or not America will remain a constitutional republic," she said.
But pollster Matt Towery described Cruz's actions as "sort of a silly effort," especially since the GOP would control both congressional chambers in January.
"You let the man have another 15 minutes of fame," he told Newsmax. "You bring the thing back up for a vote — and you get the votes.
"This one is silly, because Republicans have the control this time. That's something we haven't seen in quite some time.
"When you have control of both legislative bodies, why would you play these games when the Democrats have control of the Senate still — and let Harry Reid have anything he wants.
"Harry Reid needs to walk out of there with nothing," Towery said. "Instead, he's walking out of there with bonus points because of Ted Cruz not really understanding the way things work."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.