Republicans plan to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection through a strictly partisan budget process this week, prompting Democrats to warn that the strategy will establish a dangerous precedent that both parties may exploit in future administrations.
The GOP aims to adopt a budget resolution as soon as Thursday that would allow them to bypass the Senate filibuster and pass immigration enforcement funding through reconciliation — a fast-track process traditionally reserved for tax measures, reported MS NOW. The plan sets a June 1 deadline for final passage, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s directive.
“They’re setting a precedent for the future, and it is going to be extremely difficult in the future for whoever ends up in the minority,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, told reporters Wednesday.
Republicans have proposed $140 billion in spending over 10 years, allocating $70 billion each to the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees. This would enable Republicans to pass a $70 billion ICE and CBP funding bill with a simple majority, circumventing the 60-vote threshold typically required for government funding measures.
“Republicans are inviting us to just do multi-year appropriations through reconciliation,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), while Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) added: “Democrats should not play by a different set of rules from Republicans when it comes to reconciliation.”
For decades, lawmakers considered agency budgets off-limits for reconciliation. Democrats initially breached this norm under President Joe Biden by funding part of the IRS budget through reconciliation, and Republicans subsequently pushed hundreds of billions for Department of Homeland Security and military spending through the same process.
Republicans acknowledge the risk. “It’s hard to say that we’re going to do this just once and then it’s done, because we never do,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the No. 4 Senate Republican. “It’s one, and then it’s precedent — and then it’s off to the races.”
Democrats remain divided on the issue. Some, including Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), oppose using reconciliation for agency funding under any circumstances, while others acknowledged uncertainty about future positions.
Republicans are setting a “dangerous precedent all around,” said Rep. Ed Case (D-HI).
Rep. Robert Adertholt (R-AL), on the other hand, blamed the Senate for the funding dysfunction, saying House Republicans feel they have no choice but to bypass the filibuster.
“I understand about the filibuster – I understand it, but that is not actually in the Constitution, as I understand it,” Aderholt told MS NOW. “So I really have been very disappointed in the Senate the way they handle this. I don’t really blame the speaker. I think he’s been put in a difficult position, but the Senate should have found a way to work through this.”
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