Senate passes $70B bill to fund immigration enforcement

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation early Friday to fund President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies after intense bipartisan backlash over a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund threatened to derail the bill.

Republicans managed to push through the $70 billion legislation, which would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol through the end of Trump’s term, on a 52-47 vote after weeks of delays.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the only Republican to vote against the final package, which was also opposed by all Democrats. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., missed the vote.

The bill includes $38.6 billion for ICE, $22.6 billion for the Border Patrol, $5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and $108.5 million for child exploitation investigations.

Senators from both parties proposed 29 amendments and motions before voting on final passage, with some Republicans supporting amendments that broke with Trump’s priorities.

Republicans ultimately defeated multiple attempts by senators on both sides of the aisle to codify ending or changing the settlement fund.

Eight Republicans voted in favor of an amendment that would prohibit payments from the fund to Jan. 6 rioters convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers, but the amendment failed to get the 60 votes needed to pass.

Also Friday morning, senators blocked a vote to start consideration of an extension of the authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to conduct warrantless surveillance of noncitizens outside the country. The effort to proceed to the measure failed after Senate Democrats raised concerns about Trump’s appointment of top housing official and close ally Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

The funding bill now goes to the House, which will need to pass it before it’s sent to Trump’s desk for his signature. (Source: NBC News)