Senate takes first step to fund ICE, Border Patrol in bid to cut Dems out of the funding process
Senate Republicans launched their party-line gamble Tuesday to fund immigration operations for the remainder of President Donald Trump's time in office.The GOP took its first step in the budget reconciliation...
By Fox News · Fox News
Senate Republicans launched their party-line gamble Tuesday to fund immigration operations for the remainder of President Donald Trump's time in office. The GOP took its first step in the budget reconciliation process, which is meant to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the next three-and-a-half years. The party-line vote sets up a forthcoming marathon vote on amendments in the upper chamber before the budget blueprint is shipped to the House. It’s a maneuver meant to cut Democrats out of the process, as they refused to fund immigration operations absent stringent reforms during weeks of negotiations to end the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown. SENATE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL IMMIGRATION FUNDING PLAN WITH $140 BILLION PRICE TAG AS GOP AIMS TO SPEND LESS "Republicans are doing something that must be done quickly, and that our Democrat colleagues are trying to prevent us from doing," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who crafted the resolution. "That something is simple: fully fund Border Patrol and ICE at a time of great threat to the United States." Republicans earlier unveiled their budget resolution, which will serve as the guiding framework as the GOP moves forward to fund immigration enforcement. It sets instructions for the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to spend up to $70 billion each. While the combined sum of $140 billion is eye-popping, Republicans are eyeing between $70 billion and $80 billion as the final total for immigration enforcement and want to give both committees maximum flexibility as they craft the legislative meat of the package. Senate Democrats argue that the money could go toward tackling affordability issues in the country, citing healthcare, housing, and soaring gas prices stemming from President Donald Trump’s war in Iran as examples. SENATE GOP READYING PARTY-LINE FUNDING BILL DESPITE DIVISIONS, ANGER AT THE HOUSE "No reforms, no accounta…