GOP advances ICE funding package after forcing Trump's controversial $2B fund into retreat
After delays spurred by shock announcements from the Trump administration, Senate Republicans have officially launched their play to fund immigration enforcement. The upper chamber took the first step in the...
By Fox News · Fox News
After delays spurred by shock announcements from the Trump administration, Senate Republicans have officially launched their play to fund immigration enforcement. The upper chamber took the first step in the last leg of the process to advance a roughly $70 billion package to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol after being derailed by the administration’s surprise "anti-weaponization" fund. It comes after uncertainty over whether acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s testimony under oath that the administration was "not moving forward with the fund" would be enough to satisfy skeptical Republicans. GOP LEVERAGES ICE FUNDING PACKAGE TO MAKE TRUMP'S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND 'NEVER EXIST' Republican leaders hope that the unity on display Wednesday afternoon carries through the forthcoming "vote-a-rama," where Democrats, and some Republicans, are considering several amendments to ensure that the nearly $2 billion fund is dead and never returns. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that there may be some Republicans who weren’t satisfied with Blanche’s testimony, and reiterated that the main goal was to "get the base bill across the finish line." "Hopefully, all of our members who have amendment ideas will, as they think through that, and they have the opportunities to have conversations… about their ideas, keep in mind we need to keep the bill together and make sure we’ve got 50 votes for it," Thune said. GOP DEMANDS TRUMP KILL CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND BEFORE REVIVING ICE FUNDING PACKAGE The fund, announced last month as part of a settlement between the Trump family and the Internal Revenue Service, received strong pushback from Republicans who feared that without proper guardrails, people convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill could access the taxpayer funds. Republicans who were irate at the fund are still deciding whether they'll support amendments, and beyond that, whether th…