Senate will begin voting on funding immigration enforcement after Trump’s settlement fund is dropped

The Republican-led Senate will begin voting Wednesday on a roughly $70 billion bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol after the White House dropped a $1.776 billion settlement fund for political allies and lawmakers removed a separate $1 billion proposal for White House security, including a new ballroom for President Donald Trump. The legislation was delayed for weeks as GOP senators navigated obstacles created by Trump and the White House, but Majority Leader John Thune said the goal is now to pass the pared-back bill. Republicans must navigate a series of amendment votes, including expected Democratic proposals to codify the ban on the settlement fund, while maintaining a simple majority in the 53-47 Senate.

Getting your Trinity Audio //trinityaudio.ai player ready... By MARY CLARE JALONICK and KEVIN FREKING WASHINGTON AP — The Republican-led Senate will start voting Wednesday on legislation to fund immigration enforcement agencies after forcing the White House to drop its settlement fund for political allies https://apnews.com/article/blanche-fund-justice-department-january-6-c06a4aa4a1052055bc67c4a0a54984e3 and stripping a separate proposal for White House security https://apnews.com/article/trump-white-house-ballroom-settlement-fund-republicans-e163c601f69265e230ed79442c7305e4 from the bill. The roughly $70 billion bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol was delayed for weeks as Republican senators navigated the various obstacles to passage created by President Donald Trump and the White House. They say they are now ready to move forward with the legislation, which is pared back to its original form. “Right now, the goal is to get the base bill across the finish line,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Still, Republicans will need to find enough votes to beat back multiple amendments that Democrats — and potentially some Republicans — say they will offer. Republicans are using a process called budget reconciliation https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-shutdown-trump-senate-ice-88123d8659e5df0572e4882f40238393 that enables them to pass the legislation without any Democratic votes, but they must first wade through a long series of amendment votes that could pose problems for the bill. Amendment votes will test GOP unity The primary threat during voting on the amendments that could begin as soon as Wednesday night is a series of expected Democratic proposals on Trump’s $1.776 billion settlement fund, which his administration scrapped on Tuesday after fierce Republican pushback. While acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress that “we are not moving forward with the fund, period,” Democrats say they want it written into the law. “It is only a matter of time before Blanche and Trump go back on their word,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Thune said Blanche’s comments were “extremely helpful” and he thinks most GOP senators were satisfied by the decision. “We’ll find out,” he said. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has said he may offer an amendment to block any attempt at resurrecting that fund, which was part of a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS https://apnews.com/article/trump-treasury-irs-tax-records-e3a79e1bfdc94a663504754af80ce183 over the leak of his tax returns. Thune said he is working with Tillis and others who have discussed amendments as he tries to ensure he has enough votes for a simple majority in the 53-47 Senate. “Keep in mind, we’ve got to keep them all together, make sure we’ve got 50 votes for it,” Thune said. Money has been dropped for Trump’s ballroom The legislation was also delayed by the opposition to $1 billion in security funding https://apnews.com/article/ballroom-white-house-trump-senate-billion-security-94c2b4087630b41831136e87ec5304f9 for the White House, including for Trump’s new ballroom https://apnews.com/article/trump-ballroom-construction-east-wing-275f8034ad3817ca78aa085d1c202c32 , that was added to the original bill. Democrats and some Republicans https://apnews.com/article/trump-ballroom-billion-gop-opposition-immigration-be294d74e3b197d469f43b902e707580 questioned using taxpayer money for the massive project in a time of economic hardship for many voters. Democrats had planned amendments to strip that language, as well. As various side issues temporarily derailed the legislation, Republicans have said their top priority is passing the ICE and Border Patrol funding that Democrats have blocked for months in protest of the administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown https://apnews.com/article/immigration-ice-border-trump-mass-deportations-77ca6741fe11ac35852c8b15d3016991 . But success requires GOP unity in the Senate and the House before it can reach Trump. Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.