The Senate took the first steps in a new effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security early Thursday, voting to adopt a budget plan that would fund ICE and Border Patrol over Democratic objections and sending it to the House. The entire department has been shut down since mid-February as Democrats demanded policy changes, reports the AP. Republicans are now trying to fund the two immigration enforcement agencies through the complicated, time-consuming process called budget reconciliation, a maneuver that they also used to pass President Trump's package of tax and spending cuts last year with no Democratic votes. "We have a multistep process ahead of us, but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America's borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
The budget process requires a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules that require Republicans to find 60 votes on most bills when they hold 53 seats. But it also comes with a long, open-ended series of amendment votes at the beginning and the end of the process known as a "vote-a-rama," notes CBS News. The Senate held the first series of votes through the night, starting Wednesday evening and into early Thursday, with Democrats proposing amendments to lower health care expenses and other costs in an effort to contrast with Republicans' focus on immigration enforcement. "Instead of pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into ICE and Border Patrol, Republicans should be working with Democrats to lower out-of-pocket costs," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The Senate adopted the final resolution 50-48, just past 3:30am. Republicans Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski broke ranks with their party.
Once the House approves the framework and the Senate Parliamentarian approves it, the two chambers can then move to pass the measure. The Senate has already voted on a bipartisan basis to reopen the rest of the department, but Republican leaders in the House say they won't take up that bill until the Senate shows progress toward funding ICE and Border Patrol, as well. The $70 billion budget resolution would fund the two agencies for three years, through the rest of Trump's term. Thune and other GOP leaders say they hope to keep the bill narrowly focused on ICE and Border Patrol and get it to Trump's desk in the coming weeks, along with the rest of Homeland Security Department funding that has already passed the Senate.
But that could prove difficult as many in the party see the budget bill as the last real chance this year to enact their priorities. Republicans in both the Senate and House have pushed to add other items, including money for farmers and Trump's proof of citizenship voting bill, called the SAVE America Act. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., briefly held up the vote series late Wednesday, frustrated that the bill would not include parts of the SAVE America Act or other legislation. "This is the last train leaving the station," Kennedy said, predicting they would not be able to pass any other major bills ahead of November's midterm elections. But he withdrew his objections and allowed the voting to proceed.
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