House Passes $70 Billion Funding Legislation for Immigration Enforcement

Republicans have passed their nearly $70 billion legislation to fund the president’s mass deportation plan through the end of his term. Left out of the bill, however, are funds for President Trump’s ballroom and a prohibition on the establishment of an “anti-weaponization fund.”The bill became a necessity for Republican lawmakers after Democrats blocked a traditional budget measure to keep the Department of Homeland Security open. After months of being unable to pay department employees — including TSA workers — Republicans agreed to fund all aspects of the department without money for immigration enforcement agencies like ICE, CBP, and Homeland Security Investigations. The bill passed by the House Tuesday would fund all of those agencies through the end of 2028, when a new president will be elected. The House passed the bill by a margin of 214 to 212. No Democrats voted for the bill, while one independent who is a member of the Republican Conference, Kevin Kiley, also voted no. Mr. Trump is expected to sign the bill on Wednesday. The process was an ugly one not just because it was part of a larger breakdown of the bipartisan appropriations process, but also because some Republicans decided to take the opportunity to go after Mr. Trump for some of his recent actions. A mix of moderates, vulnerable incumbents, and lawmakers being shunted into retirement due to the president’s endorsements are now jokingly known as the “YOLO” caucus, referring to the term, “you only live once.”The group is comprised of Senator Thom Tillis, who is retiring after Mr. Trump threatened to endorse a primary challenge against him; Senators Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn, both of whom recently lost their primaries to Trump-backed challengers; Senator Susan Collins, who is up for re-election in Maine, and Senator Lisa Murkowski, the moderate from Alaska. Dr. Cassidy was the leader of an effort to block the creation of any kind of “anti-weaponization” funds in the future after Mr. Trump sought to set up such a payout fund as a result of his lawsuit settlement with the IRS. Ultimately, Dr. Cassidy could not craft language that would comply with Senate rules, though a later amendment — which was not included due to the chamber’s 60-vote threshold — received eight votes from Republicans. The acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, may also soon be at the mercy of the “YOLO” caucus. His nomination to serve as attorney general hinges on winning the support of every Republican member of the Judiciary Committee. Two of those members — Messrs. Tillis and Cornyn — have so far been noncommittal. “We’re gonna have an interesting conversation that I’m sure will give you a lot of material,” Mr. Cornyn told reporters on Tuesday. Dr. Cassidy, who does not sit on the Judiciary Committee, also has his reservations. “I need to know if Todd Blanche is an attorney general who used to be the president’s personal attorney, or is he the president’s personal attorney who just happens to be attorney general? That kind of summarizes my concerns and what I’ll be looking for,” he said just off the Senate floor Monday.

House Passes $70 Billion Funding Legislation for Immigration Enforcement

House Passes $70 Billion Funding Legislation for Immigration Enforcement

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