By a vote of 49-50, a vote to eliminate the formation of a future fund for lawfare victims of the Biden administration failed. The Senate GOP also managed to pass $70 billion for immigration enforcement funding through the DHS.
Anti-ICE Progressive
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Senate Republicans launched debate on their party-line immigration enforcement bill Wednesday — a major step after nearly two weeks of delay — but they are facing lingering internal concerns over a proposed “Anti-Weaponization Fund” that could still scuttle the legislation.
Senators voted 53-46 on party lines to advance the bill, which would provide roughly $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other Department of Homeland Security agencies.
An updated bill released Wednesday omits $1 billion in Secret Service security funding that had been included in an earlier draft and could have been used for President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project. POLITICO first reported the decision to drop the funding last month.
It also strips out Justice Department funding unrelated to the controversial settlement fund — a move that GOP leaders made in hopes of making it harder to include language restricting or eliminating the fund. Top Republicans have warned that adding such language could threaten to tank the overall bill.
“Right now, the goal is to get the base bill across the finish line, and so hopefully all of our members who have amendment ideas will … keep in mind the need that we’ve got to keep the bill together and make sure we’ve got 50 votes for it at the end,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.
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The move was in response to Republican opposition over the optics of taxpayers footing the $220 million bill for ballroom security and the Senate parliamentarian’s determination that the funding did not comply with rules of reconciliation, the filibuster-skirting process the party is using to bypass Democrats.
The updated text, released by the Senate Judiciary Committee ahead of a procedural vote Wednesday afternoon to advance the bill, also removed additional funding for the Justice Department.
The roughly $70 billion measure centers on funding federal immigration agencies and the Department of Homeland Security through 2029 after Democrats blocked money for the agencies in government funding legislation earlier this year to protest Trump’s deportation agenda. It is known as the SECURE America Act.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said the bill ensures DHS funding can no longer be “held hostage by Democrats’ radical leftist agenda.”
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A bid to restore funding to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol has been derailed by rows over a $1bn proposal for security measures tied to Donald Trump’s White House ballroom and controversial plans to create a $1.8bn “anti-weaponization” fund.
The US Senate will not pass the $70bn legislation ahead of a 1 June deadline set by the US president, Republican senators told reporters on Thursday, as lawmakers leave Washington for the Memorial Day recess.
It comes amid backlash from members of Trump’s own party against an attempt to latch funding for his ballroom project on to the immigration bill.
The plan prompted intense anxiety among congressional Republicans, who feared diverting taxpayer dollars toward Trump’s “East Wing modernization project” amid mounting cost of living concerns across the US would risk alienating voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Some Senate Republicans have also expressed concerns about a plan, announced on Monday, to create a secretive $1.776bn fund – which critics have argued is essentially a slush fund – to compensate Trump allies as part of an agreement in which the president and his sons dropped a $10bn long-shot lawsuit against the US Internal Revenue Service.
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The Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that major pieces of the GOP’s party-line immigration enforcement package do not comply with the chamber’s rules — a setback to Republicans racing to clear the bill this month.
The parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, found that four parts of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s portion of the legislation will need to be reworked — or risk Democrats forcing a floor vote on each provision that would be subject to a 60-vote threshold, according to a statement from Budget Committee Democrats Thursday night.
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The White House is warning lawmakers that funding used to pay personnel at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is close to being depleted, sounding the alarm about potential disruptions to airport security and other critical operations if Congress does not act soon.
In a memo sent late Tuesday, the Office of Management and Budget cautioned that stopgap funding measures used to cover payroll for agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) could be exhausted as early as May. The administration urged the House of Representatives to move quickly on a budget resolution already approved by the Senate, describing the situation as increasingly urgent.
“DHS will soon run out of critical operating funds, placing essential personnel and operations at risk,” the memo stated.
The warning comes as the House faces internal divisions that have slowed progress on legislation aimed at restoring full funding to the department. Speaker Mike Johnson is navigating disagreements within his narrow Republican majority, leaving the chamber largely stalled on several key issues, including the Homeland Security budget.
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Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that language in a Homeland Security funding bill the Senate passed unanimously near three weeks ago is “problematic” and will have to be changed to pass the House.
The bill as written, Johnson said, would “orphan” funding for key immigration enforcement agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Passage of that measure is part of a two-track DHS funding approach that won President Donald Trump’s endorsement but has faced skepticism from some conservative hard-liners.
The failure of the House and Senate GOP to align on a plan threatens to further delay the passage of DHS funding, even after Saturday’s attempted assassination at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“It has some problematic language because it was haphazardly drafted,” Johnson told reporters of the Senate-passed bill. “We have a modified version that I think is going to be much better for both chambers.”
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As of April 20, the DHS reported that 830 TSA officers had quit due to the lapse in funding, according to Politico. In the last eight days, another 300 handed in their notices.
The latest figure is roughly the same number of TSA employees who departed the agency during the historic 43-day government shutdown last fall.
With the current shutdown, airport security is especially taking a toll and could have a serious impact on air travel as the nation hosts the FIFA World Cup and the semiquincentennial this summer.
Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pay TSA employees until a funding deal comes to fruition. However, the money could run dry if the shutdown lasts much longer.
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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) says Republicans should “nuke” the Senate’s filibuster rule if Democrats continue to block Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding after the third assassination attempt against President Trump, citing “a moment of national danger.” Johnson acknowledged in an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that Republicans would want…
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Republicans in the upper chamber are ramping up the pressure on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to swiftly approve a Senate-passed bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), arguing that tens of thousands of federal workers could miss paychecks next month if the House delays much longer. Senate Majority Leader John Thune…
Using a procedure called “budget reconciliation,” the GOP-led house finally passed a bill funding ICE and Border Patrol through President Trump’s current term. The bill now goes to the House, where it is expected to barely pass, before it gets to the final passage stage.
Senate Republicans Secure ICE Funding In Late-Night ‘Vote-A-Rama’– trendingpoliticsnews.com
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Senate Republicans pushed a border-enforcement funding plan over the finish line in the early hours Thursday, advancing a measure aimed at bolstering U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol through the remainder of the Trump administration.
Using the budget reconciliation process, which allows certain legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority, the chamber adopted the bill shortly after 3:30 a.m. Eastern following roughly six hours of debate, CBS News reported.
The overnight session featured a “vote-a-rama,” a fast-moving marathon in which senators offer amendments that receive limited debate and must be voted on.
The measure passed 50-48, with Democrats voting no. Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against it, according to the Senate roll call. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa did not vote.
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In the early hours of Thursday morning, Senate Republicans did what Democrats have spent months refusing to do: fund the men and women enforcing America’s immigration laws.
The chamber adopted a budget blueprint 50-48 after an all-night marathon of amendment votes known as a “vote-a-rama” that stretched past 3:30 a.m. It was a hard-fought win that moves the country one step closer to ending a self-inflicted Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that Democrats have done nothing to resolve.
The vehicle is budget reconciliation, a parliamentary process that lets legislation clear the Senate with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes Democrats have used to block immigration enforcement funding at every turn. The goal is to unlock roughly $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) up front, with the full framework potentially reaching $140 billion through the end of President Trump’s term.
Republicans aren’t apologizing for the urgency. They’ve seen what happens when Democrats get power, and they have no intention of leaving the border undefended the next time it happens.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich raised concerns on Tuesday about a provision in the latest Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, asking why Senate Republicans allowed a section that is “totally inappropriate.”
The Senate approved a funding deal Friday that excluded money for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol using unanimous consent, while the House later narrowly passed a stopgap bill funding all of DHS, including immigration enforcement, through late May. Speaking on “Kudlow,” Gingrich said the provision appears problematic.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated Monday that the Trump administration is considering withdrawing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from international airports located in sanctuary cities.
In an interview with Fox News, Mullin said he would “take a hard look” at this measure to punish cities that ban cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, arguing that such municipalities are not lawful and should not receive federal benefits like customs processing while refusing to enforce immigration laws.
House Republicans on Friday blasted the Senate’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding deal with Democrats and signaled they will refuse to bring it to the floor, deepening a standoff that is already disrupting airports and federal operations.
The rejection sets up a continued impasse as Washington heads into a two-week recess with no clear resolution in sight.
- Trump Live Updates: TSA Pay to Resume, but ICE Could Remain at Airports, Homan Says The New York Times
- How Trump is paying TSA, briefly explained Vox
- Major US airports return to normal as TSA workers get paid Reuters
- Atlanta TSA employees begin receiving back pay. Future pay remains uncertain. AJC.com
- TSA officer absence levels still elevated at some airports, even as workers begin to receive back pay CBS News
