The Patriot Post® · Senate Republicans Try to Melt the ICE Shutdown

The Department of Homeland Security has technically been in a Democrat-induced shutdown since February 14, but it may soon receive its funding. In a marathon session, the Senate passed a $70 billion funding resolution for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the first step toward a reconciliation bill that would avoid the Senate filibuster.

The 50-48 vote fell mostly along party lines, with two Republican senators breaking ranks to side with Democrats against the resolution. Two other senators, one from each party, abstained.

The budget resolution would fully fund ICE and CBP over the next three years, the rest of President Donald Trump’s term.

“We have a multistep process ahead of us,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated following the vote, “but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America’s borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies.”

He also defended the ICE funding move, observing, “If Democrats want to continue to embrace being the party of defund the police and open borders, they can do that. Republicans are going to do the job the American people elected us to do.”

One of the two Republicans to vote against the measure was Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who pointed to the cost as his rationale. He offered an amendment that would have eliminated various foreign aid programs to offset the cost and not add any additional money to the budget, but it was voted down 74-24.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried to spin the Democrats’ objection to the funding as concern over the cost of living. “The American people are hurting right now because of the soaring cost of living,” he lamented, “and that’s why it’s so important that Democrats continue to force Republicans to take these votes and go on the record about their disastrous agenda.”

When were Democrats ever concerned about government spending or the inflation it causes?

Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy proposed an amendment to include elements of the SAVE Act in the resolution package, warning that a reconciliation bill was Republicans’ last opportunity to pass any elements of the SAVE Act. “This is the last train leaving the station,” he said. “And I’d like to see us come up with one or two issues that will help the American people with the cost of living and other things that I know Republicans can agree to.”

However, Kennedy’s amendment failed to pass. That could prove problematic for the legislation when it reaches the House, as a number of Republican lawmakers have pressed the Senate to get on board and pass the commonsense election-protection legislation.

With the passage of this budget resolution, attention now goes to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson has yet to present the DHS funding package the Senate passed a month ago for a vote. Johnson’s concern was ensuring that ICE also received funding, so now that the Senate has funded ICE, he should be free to advance both.

Is this whole DHS/ICE funding standoff nearing its end? Well, as noted above, this is merely the first step Republican lawmakers are taking toward building a reconciliation package that will enable them to fully fund DHS, including ICE, while avoiding the Senate Democrats’ filibuster roadblock.

If Republican lawmakers can unite and focus solely on passing a reconciliation package that fully funds DHS, including ICE, then they have this in the bag. The trouble is, a number of House Republicans would like to pack more agenda items into the bill. As Thune observed, “They know it’s coming, and you know [Speaker Johnson] 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.”

Getting around the Democrats’ roadblock is the big hang-up for the Republican-controlled Senate. As long as the filibuster remains, the chance of getting any significant Republican legislation, such as the SAVE Act, passed seems outside the realm of possibility. However, Republican lawmakers do have it in their power to fund ICE if they don’t derail themselves.