Republicans in Congress continue to be at odds over how to advance a reconciliation package in the Senate to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, the Washington Examiner reported on Wednesday.
At issue is whether the bill, engineered to get around a Democratic filibuster under budget rules to avoid a near-intractable fight over the oversight reforms for immigration officers Democrats are demanding, should remain a “skinny” bill that only funds those two agencies, or be loaded with other Republican priorities that can’t otherwise pass Congress — a process that would drag out passage and potentially alienate needed votes.
“House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has signaled he is willing to accept the narrower approach, even as he blamed Democrats for the DHS funding shortfall,” said the report. ‘Through a targeted and narrow reconciliation process, we will fully fund the agency, including ICE and CPP for three years in the future,’ Johnson said at a Tuesday press conference. Still, some Republicans are reluctant to give up leverage for a more expansive package — particularly as hopes for a third reconciliation bill fade amid slim margins and the approaching November elections.”
But others aren’t satisfied with this approach, which comes amid reports that Johnson and Senate GOP Leader John Thune (R-SD) are contradicting each other on certain aspects of the plan.
“Now we’re in a position where we’re having to look at this whole reconciliation thing and whether it’s going to be a skinny reconciliation, which is really frustrating to a lot of my colleagues and myself as well, very frustrating, because this is a tool that we as a majority should be able to utilize,” said Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC).
This also coincides with a separate headache as Republicans scramble to find the votes to move forward with a reauthorization bill for America’s major espionage programs.
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