The Senate adopted a budget resolution early Thursday morning after a six-hour voting session, allowing Republicans to use a partisan reconciliation bill to fund ICE and the Border Patrol.
The Senate voted 50-48 to pass the budget resolution, with Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rand Paul (R-KY) voting against the measure. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) did not vote, citing personal reasons.
The budget resolution heads to the House, where it remains unclear if the House will be able to pass the legislation, as many Republicans aim to expand the limited scope of the reconciliation bill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said, “It didn’t seem like this should be that heavy a left. But nothing is easy these days.” Thune said early Thursday morning that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has not agreed to adopt the budget resolution in its current form.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX), and Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) have called for expanding the reconciliation bill beyond just funding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol.
Democrats have not agreed to fund those parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), forcing Republicans to advance a reconciliation bill which could pass through the Senate with only a simple majority of 51 votes.
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) has warned that the Senate Republicans’ “skinny” funding of CBP and ICE would not pass through Congress’s lower chamber.
He wrote, “The Senate’s skinny budget only funding ICE and CBP will not pass the House. The @HouseGOP must FULLY fund DHS. The Senate’s baseline of zero for ICE and CBP is unacceptable. Thanks for your attention to this matter.”
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