The Senate voted Wednesday to move forward on a roughly $72 billion immigration enforcement bill after Republican leaders stripped $1 billion from the measure that had been designated for security upgrades tied to Trump’s White House ballroom construction. The 53-45 procedural vote ends a months-long impasse that had stalled the legislation.
The reconciliation bill provides funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations. The $1 billion that was removed had been intended for Secret Service security upgrades — a request made after an April shooting at a hotel where Trump attended a gala, BBC News reported.
Trump has argued the ballroom addition, under construction on the site of the demolished East Wing, is needed to host official state functions and upgrade security facilities, and has repeatedly said it would be paid for through private donations. Democrats have opposed the project. The Senate parliamentarian agreed that the security funds should not be included in the immigration bill.
The chamber will now debate the measure and consider amendments before a final vote, a process expected to extend into Thursday. If the Senate passes the bill, it will go to the House before being sent to Trump for his signature.
The bill’s progress had also been delayed by Republican objections to a separate provision: a Department of Justice proposal to establish an $1.8 billion “anti-weaponisation fund” to compensate people allegedly harmed by government overreach. Critics said the money would have been a slush fund for Trump allies, including those who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Testifying before lawmakers Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that the Justice Department was dropping plans to set up the fund, but declined to put the decision in writing. Trump later told reporters the plan was not entirely dead, saying he would “have to ask the lawyers.”
Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he plans to introduce legislation that would ban the creation of such a fund. Other Republicans have also criticized the proposed fund, and Democrats have said they also plan to draft bills blocking it.