The Senate finally passed the budget reconciliation bill this morning that included ICE and CBP funding through the end of President Trump’s term, finally getting past this ridiculous period where the funding was blocked by Democrats.
And remember, this is the behind-the-scenes ICE and CBP funding, not the main enforcement funding that was already appropriated in the Big Beautiful Bill for the rest of Trump’s term.
There was only one Republican who voted against it – the biggest RINO of the Senate, Lisa Murkowski.
Here’s the news:
The Senate passed legislation early Friday to fund President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies after intense bipartisan backlash over a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund threatened to derail the bill.
Republicans managed to push through the $70 billion legislation, which would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol through the end of Trump’s term, on a 52-47 vote after weeks of delays.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the only Republican to vote against the final package, which was also opposed by all Democrats. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., missed the vote.
Murkowski criticized the use of the budget reconciliation process, which allows senators to advance legislation related to taxes and spending with a simply majority vote rather than the usual 60-vote threshold needed to overcome legislative filibusters.
The bill includes $38.6 billion for ICE, $22.6 billion for the Border Patrol, $5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and $108.5 million for child exploitation investigations.
It does not include security funding for the White House ballroom, or any guardrails on the creation of the pot of money seen by Democrats and some Republicans as a “slush fund” to funnel taxpayer money to potentially pay Jan. 6 rioters and other Trump allies.
The final vote, shortly before 5 a.m., followed an 18-hour “vote-a-rama” during which senators could offer amendments. Senators from both parties proposed 29 amendments and motions before voting on final passage, with some Republicans supporting amendments that broke with Trump’s priorities.
Republicans ultimately defeated multiple attempts by senators on both sides of the aisle to codify ending or changing the settlement fund.