Senate votes to advance $70bn funding plan for ICE and Border Patrol
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The Senate voted to adopt a $70bn budget plan to fund ICE and Border Patrol as part of a new effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The impasse has been ongoing since mid-February as Democrats have demanded policy changes following fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents. The budget resolution would fund the two agencies for three years, covering the remainder of President Trump's term.
Republicans are now attempting to fund the two immigration enforcement agencies through the complex and time-consuming process known as budget reconciliation, a maneuver previously used to pass President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cuts last year without Democratic votes.
"We have a multistep process ahead of us, but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America’s borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
The budget process requires only a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules that typically require 60 votes on most bills, while Republicans hold 53 seats.
The Senate conducted the initial series of votes during a late-night ‘vote-a-rama’ session, beginning Wednesday evening and continuing into early Thursday morning.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated, "Instead of pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into ICE and Border Patrol, Republicans should be working with Democrats to lower out-of-pocket costs."
The Senate adopted the final resolution with a 50-48 vote shortly after 3:30 a.m. ET.
Separately, the Pentagon announced without explanation that "Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately." The head of the U.S. Navy, which is currently enforcing a wartime blockade of Iranian ports, was replaced by former MAGA political candidate Hung Cao, now acting Secretary of the Navy.
This unexpected announcement drew renewed attention to Cao’s previous remarks claiming that "witchcraft" had "taken over" Monterey, California.
Virginia’s Attorney General, Jay Jones, pledged to appeal an injunction issued by a circuit court judge that temporarily blocks the state from certifying the results of Tuesday’s redistricting referendum.
As jet fuel prices surge amid the ongoing energy crisis triggered by Donald Trump’s conflict with Iran, two Republican senators, Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, criticized a proposed U.S. government bailout of budget carrier Spirit Airlines.
Representative David Scott, a Democrat from Georgia, has died at the age of 80. He is the fifth member of Congress to die in office within the past year.
If approved by the House, the resolution will enable congressional committees to begin detailing how the $70bn would be allocated in separate legislation that President Trump would need to sign into law.
The new funding is expected to cover the remainder of Trump’s presidency, which ends in January 2029.
With Democrats firmly opposing the funding initiative, Republicans plan to use the rarely employed budget reconciliation procedure in the separate legislation, allowing some budget-related bills to bypass Democratic opposition in the Senate.
This process requires only a simple majority for passage in the 100-member chamber, rather than the usual supermajority of 60 votes or more. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 seat majority.
Funding for most of DHS expired more than nine weeks ago, as Democrats pressured Republicans and the White House to accept new restrictions on ICE and Border Patrol, which operate under DHS direction.
Following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis, Democrats insisted that ICE and Border Patrol adhere to the same operational rules as police forces nationwide, including the requirement of judicial warrants before agents can enter private homes.
However, weeks of negotiations ended in a stalemate.
The Senate has since passed legislation to fund DHS operations excluding ICE and Border Patrol. However, this measure has stalled in the House, where hardline Republicans have demanded funding for those two entities as well.
