Senate Passes Budget Resolution To Fund ICE; Will House Deliver?

Who says Republicans can’t get anything done? Now we just need to see whether the House GOP can stick the landing.

The Senate worked into the wee hours of the morning to pass a new budget resolution bill, fighting through the required “vote-a-rama” to pass it on a simple majority. It barely squeaked by, but John Thune did what he promised – opened the door to a reconciliation package that will directly fund ICE and the Border Patrol for multiple budget years. Now it falls to Speaker Mike Johnson to deliver in the House:

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 budget process only requires a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules that require Republicans to find 60 votes on most bills when they only hold 53 seats. But it also comes with increased scrutiny from the Senate parliamentarian and a long, open-ended series of amendment votes at the beginning and the end of the process.

The Senate held the first series of votes through the night, starting Wednesday evening and into early Thursday morning, with Democrats proposing amendments to lower health care expenses and other costs in an effort to contrast with Republicans’ focus on Trump’s campaign of immigration enforcement.

Bear in mind that this is not the actual reconciliation package. To enable a reconciliation ‘envelope,’ Congress must pass a budget resolution first that authorizes it. Presidents do not sign budget resolutions, which in this case is largely moot because the GOP controls the White House as well as both chambers of Congress, and Trump is working with leadership on the hill to craft the legislation. Trump will have to sign a reconciliation bill, of course, just like any other budget or statutory bill produced by Congress.

In other words, this is just the first step, not the final product, which still can get shaped in several different ways. The resolution apparently will authorize more than one reconciliation ‘envelope,’ which leadership hopes will be enough to allow passage for a narrow bill that focuses strictly on funding ICE, CBP, and a few other DHS functions that are technically shut down at the moment. 

This should be a slam dunk … heavy emphasis on should be. Politico reported this morning that Johnson won’t guarantee delivery:

Around 4 a.m., Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that Speaker Mike Johnson hasn’t guaranteed the House can adopt the budget resolution in its current form.

“He hasn’t, although we’ve talked,” Thune said. “They know it’s coming, and you know he’s obviously got people who want to expand the scope too. But I think hopefully the White House will be engaged in trying to make sure we get the budget resolution done. … It doesn’t seem like this should be that heavy of a lift, but nothing is easy these days.”

House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington told Katherine Tully-McManus that there’s still an appetite for going broader if there is not going to be a third reconciliation bill. But House GOP leaders are planning to stick with their narrow scope, at least for now.

If the House can clear the budget blueprint next week, the Senate is aiming to have the immigration enforcement funding bill on the floor the week of May 11, Thune said — as we scooped.

That does not bode well for the eventual debate over the shape of the reconciliation packages. This is just the enabling resolution, which does provide framework for the eventual bills but is necessary to get them done at all. The House GOP caucus is getting at least the opportunity to push for what they want in the eventual bills. It’s time to pull together and get this done, especially with attention mainly focused on the war against Iran and the brinksmanship taking place at the moment. It’s time to govern by making wise choices and adjustments, not the time to kneecap the caucus via unrealistic maximalism. 

Editor’s Note: Democrat politicians and their radical supporters will do everything they can to interfere with and threaten ICE agents enforcing our immigration laws.

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