The Senate early Friday approved a sweeping immigration enforcement package worth $70 billion, rejecting fierce bipartisan calls to rein in a controversial pot of taxpayer money that lawmakers fear could be used to compensate Capitol riot defendants and other Trump allies.
The vote came 52-47 after an exhausting 18-hour amendment session that exposed deep fractures in both parties over how the money should be spent and what safeguards should apply. Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska broke ranks to oppose the final package. Every Democrat voted no, with Colorado's Michael Bennet absent.
The legislation allocates $38.6 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $22.6 billion to the Border Patrol, $5 billion to the Department of Homeland Security, and $108.5 million for child exploitation investigations. The funding extends through Trump's term.
The real fight centered on the so-called "anti-weaponization" fund, a $1.8 billion allocation that Republicans created without any stated purpose or oversight restrictions. Democrats and a handful of Republicans have warned it amounts to a blank check for the administration to distribute funds without accountability, potentially to individuals convicted in connection with the January 6 Capitol attack.
Eight Republicans attempted to attach an amendment blocking payments from the fund to rioters convicted of assaulting law enforcement. The effort fell short of the 60 votes required to pass. All told, senators offered 29 amendments and motions during the overnight voting marathon, but Republicans defeated every serious attempt to reshape or restrain the fund.
The standoff had already forced Republicans to delay the bill twice. The Trump administration's own position remains murky. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified Tuesday that the administration was "not moving forward with the fund," but Trump signaled he was not prepared to abandon it entirely.
Democrats have also demanded reforms to ICE and Border Patrol operations following deaths of two Minnesota residents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during encounters with federal agents. Those negotiations have stalled, and Democrats said they will continue pushing the issue even as they lost this round.
The package now moves to the House, which has postponed votes until next week. Once the House acts, the bill heads to Trump for his signature.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "The Senate's refusal to put even basic guardrails on a blank check fund is a striking failure of fiscal responsibility and oversight, no matter which party controls the chamber."
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