Senate Republicans are pressing ahead Wednesday with a $69.5 billion bill to fund the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda, while scrapping money for the Secret Service and Justice Department that held it up.
The Senate voted 53-46 Wednesday to take up legislation funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection for the rest of Trump’s term after their annual spending lapsed in February. The procedural vote sets up hours of debate and amendment votes before Republicans can send the key legislative priority to the House.
The package belatedly moved after the Senate Judiciary Committee released updated text Wednesday that drops money for security components of President Donald Trump’s proposed White House ballroom and for DOJ, which became enmeshed in concerns about a $1.8 billion settlement fund for victims of allegedly politically motivated government prosecution. Excising provisions unrelated to immigration, such as $1 billion for the Secret Service, allowed the rest of the money to move forward.
Republicans’ decision to strip $1.5 billion for DOJ in the new text could make it more challenging for Democratic efforts to force votes targeting Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund.” Without the DOJ money, Democratic amendments on the settlement fund could be subject to a 60-vote threshold for adoption rather than a simple majority.
The entire updated package, which includes separate text from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, provides $38.5 billion for ICE and $26 billion for CBP. It also provides $5 billion for Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s office to assist border support.
Republicans are advancing the bill under budget reconciliation, a process that requires them to get only a simple majority for Senate passage. The House Rules Committee is meeting Wednesday to clear the path for that chamber to vote on the bill later this week.
(Adds procedural vote result in headline and paragraph 2. )