WASHINGTON — After a marathon vote series, Senate Republicans passed about $70 billion in funding for immigration enforcement agencies early Friday despite unsuccessful efforts to kill the Trump administration’s “anti-weaponization” fund.
U.S. Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., both voted with their party 52-47 to advance the measure to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the rest of President Donald Trump’s second term.
“There are too many threats in our world for us not to give ICE and Border Patrol the resources they need to keep Americans safe, so I look forward to finally getting this done,” Tuberville told reporters on a call Thursday.
Republicans used a legislative process called reconciliation to bypass Democratic opposition to fund the two agencies.
Democrats had demanded major reforms to immigration enforcement tactics before lending their support to fund the agencies as part of the normal appropriations process. The policy demands came after federal immigration enforcement agents shot and killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis in January.
Britt, who serves as the chair of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, expressed dismay earlier this week at the Senate’s inability to provide regular funding for the immigration enforcement arms earlier this year.
“As disappointing as this process has been, I want to stress my support for passing the reconciliation bill and provide the necessary funding for ICE and CBP to do their job,” Britt said during a budget hearing Tuesday.
Throughout the vote-a-rama on Thursday and into Friday morning, Democrats and some Republicans offered up amendments aimed at stripping away Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund. Other amendments targeted preventing federal dollars from being spent on Trump’s White House ballroom project.
The nearly $1.8 billion proposed fund, created as part of an IRS settlement, is intended to allow Americans who feel they were wrongfully prosecuted by the federal government to seek compensation — including those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
“For something as corrupt as this slush fund, toothless guardrails, meek reforms, and empty promises won’t cut it – we need to outlaw it permanently,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor.
Several vulnerable Republicans joined Democrats on some of their amendment votes to scrap some of Trump’s controversial priorities as lawmakers head into competitive elections in November.
But Britt and Tuberville remained with their party and did not support any amendments that would have restricted the “anti-weaponization” fund or the White House ballroom project.
Tuberville previously said he supported the Department of Justice’s settlement, though he said he did not think any of the money should go towards those who assaulted police officers on Jan. 6. Britt also said she did not support compensation for those individuals either.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified in front of Congress earlier this week that the fund was essentially dead, but Trump said he wasn’t so sure if it was gone on Wednesday.
“The weaponization fund, as far as I’m concerned, was a beautiful thing,” Trump said.
Republicans also tried to add the SAVE America Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to vote in elections, to the legislation, but it failed to gain enough votes. Four Republicans joined Democrats to oppose it.
The House left town for the weekend before voting on the funding measure, so it will vote on the legislation next week.