Republican bill moves forward

Senate Republicans advance $72 billion immigration bill after scrapping White House ballroom funds

Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to move forward with a massive reconciliation package funding the Department of Homeland Security's immigration agencies, clearing a key procedural hurdle on a 53-to-46 party-line vote after weeks of intraparty friction over a controversial Justice Department fund and a billion-dollar Secret Service line item that included money for a White House ballroom renovation.

The vote sets up a marathon amendment session, the dreaded "vote-a-rama", that could stretch into Thursday, with Democrats vowing to force Republicans into difficult votes on the DOJ fund and other provisions they oppose.

But the real story is what Republicans had to strip out of the bill to get here, and what remains unresolved even after the acting attorney general told Congress the disputed fund is dead.

A revised version of one section of the package, released Wednesday, dropped language that would have provided $1 billion in security funding for the Secret Service. That line item had drawn scrutiny because it included money for President Trump's planned East Wing renovation, where he intends to build a large ballroom.

The original $72 billion package, unveiled last month by Republicans on the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, funds DHS immigration agencies through fiscal year 2029. Republicans have moved it through the budget reconciliation process, which sidesteps the 60-vote threshold required to advance most legislation in the Senate.

That procedural path is the only realistic route for a Republican-only bill in a chamber where Democrats have spent months opposing funding for immigration enforcement agencies.

Read more...