Republicans send $70 billion in ICE and border patrol funding to Trump’s desk

By Sarah Ferris, Dugald McConnell, CNN

(CNN) — House Republicans on Tuesday sent a $70 billion immigration enforcement package to President Donald Trump’s desk, ending a months-long fight that exposed major cracks in the party.

The move will now fully fund the Department of Homeland Security — specifically, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection funding — for the rest of Trump’s second term. Republicans made the measure their top legislative priority this spring, after Democrats successfully blocked Congress from approving a single dollar for ICE or border patrol after federal agents killed two US citizens in Minnesota.

But the push wasn’t easy. The top two GOP leaders were at times sharply at odds over shutdown strategy. The package nearly collapsed in the Senate because of Republican opposition to Trump’s push for a Justice Department settlement fund that critics say would act as a slush fund for his allies. Ahead of the final vote Tuesday, the bill ran into drama in the House as hardliners demanded that party leaders promise to take up a strict immigration crackdown bill — despite GOP opposition inside the narrowly divided House.

The House passed the bill by a 214-212 party-line vote, with independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California voting against it.

Kiley cited the lack of limits on federal immigration enforcement and the process taken to pass the bill as part of his decision to note vote with with GOP conference on the package.

“We didn’t see that: body cameras, training, identification, judicial warrants to enter homes, not enforcement zones around schools,” he said. “I think the vast majority of Americans support this.”

And, Kiley noted, instead of relying on the normal appropriations process to approve the spending, lawmakers relied on a workaround called budget reconciliation. “Polarization in Congress is at an all-time high right now, and I think that this is going to make things worse,” he said.

The bill’s final passage comes despite a growing number of rank-and-file defections on Capitol Hill in recent weeks. Those months of negotiation — and tension — underscored the frailty of the Republican majorities, at a time when lawmakers are increasingly worried about their political futures amid the president’s approval ratings.

Ultimately, Trump is getting nearly everything he had initially sought. Republicans are approving the ICE money without any new reforms or oversight for an agency that’s drawn heavy scrutiny in the wake of the fatal shootings.

“This bill breaks the Democrats’ stranglehold over ICE and CBP funding,” GOP Rep. Tom McClintock of California said on the House floor.

Republicans in the end did not pass any measures to kill the president’s “anti-weaponization” fund, which members of his party warned could grant payouts to rioters who attacked police officers during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has told lawmakers that the fund would not move forward, but some Senate Republicans had still sought to enact a prohibition on the fund as part of the legislation.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, a long-time immigration rights activist, accused Republicans of passing the bill with “no guardrails” — while throwing $70 billion more to ICE.

“With $70 billion, we could end homelessness in America,” said Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky. “Just about anything would be better than giving it to ICE.”

One major Trump priority that was dropped: His push for $1 billion in security upgrades for the White House, including $200 million for his East Wing ballroom project.

The Senate GOP’s initial text included nearly $1 billion for “security adjustments and upgrades” to the White House ballroom project, as well as other pots of security money after the White House Correspondent’s dinner shooting this spring. Administration officials had sought to clarify that only about $200 million would go toward the East Wing project, with the rest going toward other security efforts. But a number of Senate Republicans balked at the plan, which was also ruled against by the chamber’s rules’ referee.

The final hours ahead of passage in both chambers saw significant drama as Republicans hold-outs sought last-minute promises on the package.

In the Senate, multiple GOP senators initially held up the package over opposition to Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund — but ultimately fell in line and voted for the bill. In the end, only Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against it.

In the House, more than a dozen GOP hardliners withheld their votes for a key procedural vote on Tuesday as they made a last-ditch push to secure concessions. But they, too, ultimately fell in line.

The hardliners had stalled all House floor action on the $70 billion bill in an effort to secure a separate vote on their own hardline immigration policy bill, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

It’s unclear if they secured that promise to bring up the immigration crackdown bill — which would almost certainly fail if it ever came up for a floor vote.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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