Republicans’ push to pass billions of dollars in additional funding for immigration enforcement agencies by June 1 appeared in grave jeopardy Thursday, as some senators said they were preparing to leave town without passing the bill.
The legislation has been held up by two issues: the prospect of including $1 billion in presidential security funding — including for President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom — as well as some Republicans’ desire to limit the administration’s new $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who believe they were victims of “weaponization” by the Justice Department.
“Our members have very legitimate questions about it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said about the Justice Department fund. “And we’ve had some conversations about if it’s going to be a feature going forward, what it might look like and how we might make sure that it’s fenced in appropriately.”
Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, went to the Capitol on Thursday morning to brief Republicans on the $1.8 billion fund. Some Republicans have raised concerns that it will be used to compensate people convicted of attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Following the meeting with Blanche on Thursday, multiple senators said lawmakers will leave town for the week-long Memorial Day recess without voting on the bill.
Republicans’ hesitation to include security funding for the ballroom in the bill and the prospect that they could restrict the administration’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” are the latest signs that they are willing to break with Trump as they rush to finish the legislation before they leave for the recess.
But Republicans had not released the text of the bill Thursday afternoon, raising questions about whether lawmakers could make a June 1 deadline.
Democrats, who oppose the bill, criticized Republicans for the delay.
“The Republican Party is in complete disarray,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) said on the Senate floor. “They’re in complete meltdown. They can’t come to an agreement with each other. They’re angry with each other.”
Senate Republicans removed funding for Trump’s ballroom from the legislation to fund immigration enforcement agencies on Wednesday amid concerns that it did not have enough support to pass the chamber.
Republicans had been working toward passing a bill primarily aimed at funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol by June 1 to meet a deadline set by Trump. They had sought to include $1 billion in the bill for presidential security, including security measures related to the ballroom that Trump is trying to build where the East Wing of the White House once stood.
But the ballroom funding has run into roadblocks. The Senate parliamentarian rejected Republicans’ attempt to include it on Saturday, ruling that it did not comply with the budget rules to which the bill must adhere to allow Senate Republicans to pass it without Democratic support.
Trump on Wednesday called for firing the parliamentarian. But even if the parliamentarian had signed off on the measure, Senate Republicans said they did not have enough votes to pass the bill with funding for the Secret Service and the ballroom.
Republicans control the Senate 53-47, giving them a narrow margin for error since no Democrats are expected to support the bill. At the same time, Trump is losing his grip on Senate Republicans after openly campaigning to defeat Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who lost his primary Tuesday, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), whose primary is next week.
“There may be some issues related to the parliamentarian, but most of the issues we have here are votes,” Thune said on Wednesday.
A handful of Senate Republicans have shown an increasing willingness to break with Trump less than six months ahead of the midterm elections. Cassidy and three other Republicans voted Tuesday to advance a war powers resolution that would block Trump from further strikes on Iran.
“We want to support the president every time it’s good policy and good politics and never … if it’s either bad policy, bad politics or both,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) told reporters. “This is about our elections. There’s not a presidential election on the ballot.”
The immigration enforcement bill that Republicans have wanted to use as a vehicle for the ballroom funding will be considered under an expedited procedure called reconciliation that requires only a simple majority for passage. But a rule named after former senator Robert C. Byrd (D-West Virginia) restricts that fast track to budget items.
The parliamentarian is a nonpartisan official who advises on Senate procedures. Lawyer Elizabeth MacDonough has served in the role since 2012, appointed by then-Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nevada) after 13 years as an assistant in the office.
Trump’s demand on Wednesday for her ouster did not mention the ballroom or other specific objections, but he accused her of bias.
“Over the years, she has been brutal to Republicans, but not so to the Dumocrats — So why has she not been replaced?” Trump said, using a pejorative for the opposition party. “Get smart and tough Republicans, or you’ll all be looking for a job much sooner than you thought possible!”
The White House declined to elaborate on Trump’s post. MacDonough did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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