Senate advances ICE funding through Trump's second term
· Axios
Senate Republicans advanced ICE and Border Patrol funding through the end of President Trump's second term, after beating back multiple amendments targeting his priorities during an 18-hour "vote-a-rama."
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Why it matters: The party-line vote had been deeply in doubt over the past weeks, as senators revolted against the "anti-weaponization fund" and spending requests for the president's White House renovations.
- The final vote was 52-47, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voting "no" and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) not voting.
- The "vote-a-rama" allowed senators to offer unlimited amendments, forcing GOP leadership to repeatedly defeat amendments that targeted the two Trump provisions.
Zoom in: In the vote's opening act — a series of Democratic amendments designed to force uncomfortable votes for Republicans — Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) relied on Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to help defeat a Democratic proposal targeting the "anti-weaponization fund."
- Cassidy's vote allowed a pair of politically vulnerable Republicans — Sens. Jon Husted (Ohio) and Dan Sullivan (Alaska) — to side with Democrats without jeopardizing the amendment's defeat.
- For both senators, it marked one of their first meaningful breaks with a president whose political standing appears to be sliding.
- The vote failed, 49-50. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is also vulnerable but was expected to vote with Democrats, joined Husted and Sullivan in voting for the amendment.
Between the lines: On Trump's ballroom, the universe of Republicans willing to buck their party expanded, with seven GOP senators voting with Democrats to bar any funds for it. But the threshold for that vote was at 60, leading it to fail.
- Collins, Husted and Sullivan again voted with the Democrats.
- But so did Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Murkowski and Cassidy. Moran is up for reelection in 2028.
Zoom out: The vote-a-rama comes as Senate Republicans grapple with deteriorating polling and a series of Trump decisions that have led some GOP senators to question his political judgment.
- Many Republicans are privately skeptical of Trump's choice of FHFA Director Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.
- Trump sought to ease concerns by saying Thursday that Pulte would not be his permanent nominee — a move aimed in part at preventing the nomination from complicating the reauthorization of Section 702 of FISA.
- But enough Republicans joined Democrats in voting to block a procedural vote on FISA renewal that the vote failed shortly after reconciliation advanced early Friday morning.