Senate Republicans voted to advance a reconciliation package that will finally fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Wednesday after the Trump administration scrapped the $1.776 billion weaponization fund.
The Senate also dropped funding for Trump’s military installations and security in the White House Ballroom.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune this week confirmed that the Senate would vote on reconciliation only after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche assured that the weaponization fund would be dropped.
WATCH:
The bill will fund DHS’s immigration functions through fiscal year 2029.
Per CBS:
In a 53 to 46 vote, the Senate voted along party lines to proceed to the reconciliation package, setting up a marathon vote series before final passage. The “vote-a-rama” could begin as early as Wednesday evening, but Democrats appeared poised not to allow Republicans to speed up the process, pushing the votes into Thursday.
A revised version of one part of the package released Wednesday also dropped language that would have provided $1 billion in security funding for the Secret Service, including for President Trump’s East Wing renovation, where he plans to build a massive ballroom. That funding faced intense scrutiny from a handful of Republicans, prompting senators to abandon it.
Last month, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees unveiled the initial text of the $72 billion package, which funds immigration agencies through fiscal year 2029.
GOP senators have been seeking assurances from the administration about the fate of the controversial Justice Department fund, which was the subject of a heated meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche two weeks ago. Blanche testified before a House committee on Tuesday that “we are not moving forward with the fund.”
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, the plan to fund DHS was announced in early April with “two parallel tracks” using the appropriations and reconciliation processes, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Leader John Thune announced.
GOP lawmakers, however, revolted against the President’s agenda and held the funding for immigration agents hostage.
This is a developing story.
Jordan Conradson, formerly TGP’s Arizona correspondent, is currently on assignment in Washington DC. Jordan has played a critical role in exposing fraud and corruption in Arizona’s elections and elected officials. His reporting on election crimes in Maricopa County led to the resignation of one election official, and he was later banned from the Maricopa County press room for his courage in pursuit of the truth. TGP and Jordan finally gained access after suing Maricopa County, America’s fourth largest county, and winning at the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Conradson looks forward to bringing his aggressive style of journalism to the Swamp.
You can email Jordan Conradson here, and read more of Jordan Conradson’s articles here.
Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can’t see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.
