WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation early Friday to fund President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies after intense bipartisan backlash over a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund threatened to derail the bill.
Republicans managed to push through the $70 billion legislation, which would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol through the end of Trump’s term, on a 52-47 vote after weeks of delays.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the only Republican to vote against the final package, which was also opposed by all Democrats. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., missed the vote.
Murkowski criticized the use of the budget reconciliation process, which allows senators to advance legislation related to taxes and spending with a simply majority vote rather than the usual 60-vote threshold needed to overcome legislative filibusters.
“I believe very strongly that we needed to fund ICE and CBP, but to completely bypass regular order and the appropriations process by funding for three and a half years, to me ... it takes it out of the process that we have always looked to for funding our agencies,” Murkowski said.
She added that she also “had a problem with” including the “anti-weaponization” fund — a proposed settlement fund intended for payments to Americans who are allegedly targeted by the federal government — in the package. The payout fund was created by the Trump administration as part of the settlement of the president’s lawsuit against the IRS for the leak of his tax returns.
The bill includes $38.6 billion for ICE, $22.6 billion for the Border Patrol, $5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and $108.5 million for child exploitation investigations.
It does not include security funding for the White House ballroom, or any guardrails on the creation of the pot of money seen by Democrats and some Republicans as a “slush fund” to funnel taxpayer money to potentially pay Jan. 6 rioters and other Trump allies.
The final vote, shortly before 5 a.m., followed an 18-hour “vote-a-rama” during which senators could offer amendments. Senators from both parties proposed 29 amendments and motions before voting on final passage, with some Republicans supporting amendments that broke with Trump’s priorities.
Republicans ultimately defeated multiple attempts by senators on both sides of the aisle to codify ending or changing the settlement fund.
Eight Republicans voted in favor of an amendment that would prohibit payments from the fund to Jan. 6 rioters convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers, but the amendment failed to get the 60 votes needed to pass.
Asked about the lack of restrictions in the bill on the settlement fund, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.., noted that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had already told lawmakers that the administration would not proceed with the fund.
“I think what, what was talked about, and then ultimately done away with, is, in my view, it’s a settled issue,” Thune said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized Republicans for passing the “rotten” bill.
“Republicans refused to permanently outlaw Trump’s $2 billion slush fund, leaving taxpayers to rely on nothing more than a promise from Donald Trump’s personal fixer,” Schumer said in a statement. “That is not accountability. That is a permission slip.”
Schumer further criticized Republicans for rejecting Democrats’ efforts to include amendments aimed at lowering the cost of housing, health care, gasoline, and child care.
Also Friday morning, senators blocked a vote to start consideration of an extension of the authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to conduct warrantless surveillance of noncitizens outside the country. The effort to proceed to the measure failed after Senate Democrats raised concerns about Trump’s appointment of top housing official and close ally Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.
A vote to proceed to the bill failed in a 47-52 vote with Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., being the only Democrat to vote to proceed to the bill. Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Rick Scott of Florida and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama voted against proceeding to the measure.
The funding bill now goes to the House, which will need to pass it before it’s sent to Trump’s desk for his signature. The House announced Thursday that it would no longer be holding votes Friday, so any House action on the bill will wait until next week.
The contentious issue of the settlement fund forced Republicans to abandon plans to take up the bill two weeks ago. But problems have lingered as the Trump administration gives mixed signals about the fund.
Blanche testified before Congress on Tuesday that the administration is “not moving forward with the fund.” But Trump said he’s not ready to do away with it yet.
Democrats insist they won’t let up on the issue.
They have also vowed they will not fund ICE or the Border Patrol unless Republicans agree to new limits on the agencies after officers killed two Americans in Minnesota, Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The two parties have been unable to agree on reforms.
