The Senate began its marathon voting session, known as a vote-a-rama, to advance Republicans’ multibillion-dollar immigration funding package — a process that could stretch on for hours as GOP leaders seek to wrangle members in their own party.
Read more Deseret News archives: Evacuation at Dunkirk a pivotal moment in history
The vote-a-rama began just after 10 a.m. on Thursday, kick-starting a process where lawmakers in both parties can force votes on an unlimited number of amendments. Democrats are expected to use the marathon session to their advantage, forcing their Republican colleagues into a corner on tough votes that can later be used as campaign fodder.
But some Republicans are planning to introduce amendments of their own — including a proposal to eliminate a proposed Justice Department fund to compensate individuals who say they were targeted by the federal government.
Retiring Sens. Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy have already filed amendments to nix the so-called “anti-weaponization fund,” which could garner substantial support within GOP circles. Utah Sen. John Curtis is among those who publicly criticized the fund, and expressed a willingness to consider legislative language to rein it in.
Republican leaders will need to wrangle their party members in between amendment votes to keep everyone on the same page, working with just a three-vote margin to pass the immigration funding bill on a partisan basis.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has warned against supporting those amendments, voicing concerns that language eliminating the DOJ fund risks its final passage. If it does pass with that language, there are concerns President Donald Trump could veto the entire package.
“The goal is to get the base bill across the finish line, and so hopefully all of our members who have amendment ideas will … keep in mind the need that we’ve got to keep the bill together and make sure we’ve got 50 votes for it at the end,” Thune said on Wednesday.
Senators preview amendments
Tillis and Cassidy were among the first to submit amendments on Wednesday as well as a flurry of proposals from Democrats.
Tillis filed an amendment to render the fund inoperative, instead allocating the $1.8 billion to fraud prevention.
“I’m trying to fend off some headwinds our members will have” while running for reelection, Tillis said. “There’s no way to explain the fund, so the only way to explain it is to explain that you got rid of it. It’s that simple.”
Cassidy has introduced amendments to block payments from the anti-weaponization fund, and instead create a “Capitol defenders fund” to go toward law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol complex during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
Read more Opinion: The ‘Frankenstein candidate’ frightening Democrats across the nation
Another amendment from Cassidy would prohibit any president from being exempt from IRS tax audits — a direct response to the settlement Trump secured last month in his lawsuit against the agency.
How we got here
The Senate voted 53-46 along party lines on Wednesday evening to kick-start debate on the $70 billion funding package, setting the stage for a marathon voting session known as a vote-a-rama. Both Utah Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis voted in favor of beginning debate.
The funding package seeks to allocate roughly $70 billion to federal immigration agencies for the next three years, specifically ICE and Border Patrol. The funds for the Secret Service, which would have dedicated funds for security enhancements to the White House ballroom project.
The Secret Service is already funded under annual appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security.
The voting session comes after plans to advance the package were delayed in May. The initial June 1 deadline was derailed amid tense backlash to the DOJ anti-weaponization fund, prompting GOP leaders to lobby Trump to drop it altogether.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche assured lawmakers on Tuesday that the $1.78 billion anti-weaponization fund is “off the table” after widespread backlash — but Democrats and Senate Republicans still want to ensure it can’t be brought back in the future.
Curtis, for example, said he would be interested in exploring certain restrictions on such a fund to ensure it isn’t misused.
“There are things that probably could be done to satisfy me, as far as guardrails, but they’d have to be super robust,” Curtis said. “I think my biggest concern is: is this the way that we handle missteps by our judicial branch? I don’t think it is. I think the system is already there to handle those missteps, and I don’t think we need another system on top of it that starts with a large fund.”
House eyes vote on Friday
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters on Wednesday he expects the bill will pass the lower chamber with enough support. The House could take up the package as soon as Friday morning.
GOP leaders got the process started on Wednesday afternoon to waive House rules that would allow them to expedite passage.
Read more Opinion: Trump’s executive order on AI isn’t worth the paper it’s written on