Senators voted 52-47 in favor of the $70 billion bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol for the next three years, through the end of Trump’s term. The funding had been blocked by Democrats, and thanks to the filibuster, it stayed that way since January. It restricted arrests and deportations of illegal aliens.
The funding will be used to hire new ICE and CBP agents, deport individuals in the country illegally, and upgrade border security.
The bill significantly builds more detention facilities and funds additional deportation flights. These were all items won in the Big, Beautiful Bill that were blocked by far-left Democrats.
Democrats and some Republicans were unable to permanently end Trump’s anti-weaponization fund, a multi-billion-dollar settlement for individuals who claim they were targeted by the government. The Justice Department announced it’s shelving plans for the program, but the effort could return.
The Senate blocked the anti-weaponization fund, but not the part of the settlement, which prevents the IRS from investigating any past crimes potentially committed by President Trump, his family, or his company.
Isn’t that lovely after four years of the corrupt Biden family?
The Ballroom
The ballroom security funding appears to be out. It looks like there is no congressional approval for the ballroom. The security package included approval for the entire ballroom. We’ll have to see the language to be sure.
Other provisions left out of the bill include $1 billion for White House security upgrades, such as improvements to President Trump’s ballroom, and a proposed law requiring proof of citizenship to vote.
Other highlights of the Senate debate Thursday and Friday included an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to block construction of the 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom unless Congress authorized it.
Six Republicans voted with Democrats to support the proposal, including Collins, Husted, Sullivan, Murkowski, and Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
It’s a talking point for Democrats and RINOs.
Politico Report
The decision to omit the security funding came after twin blows: Senate Parliamentarian, an Obama plant, Elizabeth MacDonough, ruled over the weekend that the provision didn’t comply with the strict rules governing what Republicans can put in their filibuster-skirting bill because it funded activities outside of the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction.
And several GOP senators aired public concerns about including any ballroom funding in a bill otherwise dedicated to immigration enforcement. A larger swath of Republicans were privately opposed, with the mood souring further on Tuesday amid anger over Trump’s decision to endorse Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the upcoming GOP primary runoff in Texas.
Draft legislation made an explicit mention of the East Wing Modernization Project, specifying that part of the $1 billion in Secret Service funding could be used for “above-ground and below-ground security features” of the ballroom project.
That mention was a top priority for the White House, which made clear earlier this month that passage of the bill with the language included would amount to Congress granting approval to the ballroom project as a whole. The administration is currently mired in court after a federal judge ruled earlier this year that the project had not been properly authorized by lawmakers.
Thune said in an interview late last week that the White House had given them proposed legislative text related to the project.