Trump on verge of securing $70B ICE funding victory after House clears hurdle

By Fox News · Fox News

President Donald Trump moved one step closer Tuesday to locking in immigration enforcement funding through the end of his presidency. Republicans’ $70 billion immigration enforcement and border security measure advanced along party lines during a test vote of 213-211. All Democrats present voted "no" during the procedural vote, which tend to be party-line. The Senate-passed measure now heads to a vote on final passage in the House, where it is expected to be approved as early as Tuesday evening. Given Republicans' slim majority in the lower chamber, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can afford to spare just a handful of votes. "We need to fully fund this department, especially at a time of heightened security threats," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Tuesday. DOZEN GOP REBELS FAIL TO PERMANENTLY KILL TRUMP'S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND Some conservatives who want commitments from leadership to vote on legislation codifying Trump’s executive orders targeting illegal immigration initially withheld their support during the test vote. However, the GOP lawmakers ultimately supported the measure’s advancement following discussions with leadership. Tuesday's vote came after the Senate approved the GOP-authored measure largely along party lines 52-47 last week, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joining Democrats to vote against the package. House Republicans chose to leave Washington for the weekend rather than begin advancing the bill Friday. Republicans have sought to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for months amid entrenched opposition from Democrats, who refused to sign off on new funding without sweeping reforms. "Giving a $70 billion blank check to ICE, who has a history of brutalizing, terrorizing communities, killing U.S. citizens, is not what we should be doing," House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said Wednesday. "Those agencies need accountability and oversight. We should…