reconciliation
7 briefs
Fund ICE for Three Years. Also Build the Ballroom.
Senate Republicans returned from recess to pass a $72 billion immigration enforcement package. Trump wants $1 billion in the same bill for White House ballroom security. Vulnerable Republicans have to vote on both.
Moderate Republicans Block Medicaid Cuts, for Now
Vulnerable GOP senators blocked the third reconciliation bill over Medicaid fear, but the cuts already signed into law via H.R. 1 are hitting millions of Americans right now.
Congress Is Funding a Deportation Machine That Can't Be Turned Off
DHS got its funding back. ICE and CBP didn't. Now Republicans are routing $140 billion in immigration enforcement through mandatory accounts designed to survive future Congresses and future presidents.
Day 72: The DHS Shutdown Has Already Won by Continuing
The Senate passed $70 billion for ICE and Border Patrol on a 50-48 vote. The House refuses to take it up until after a 'skinny' bill. Markets give 88% odds the shutdown lasts past April. Trump endorsed renaming ICE to NICE.
The Longest Shutdown in History Is Being Ended by the Process That Caused It
Senate Republicans are using budget reconciliation to fund ICE without Democratic votes. Democrats used the shutdown to demand accountability for federal killings. Neither side is wrong, and neither can win.
Day 58: Republicans Are Using the Nuclear Option to Fund Immigration Enforcement
The DHS shutdown hit two months. The Senate passed a partial reopening that excludes ICE and CBP. Now Republicans are using budget reconciliation to fund immigration agencies for three years, bypassing the filibuster.
Funding Half a Border Agency
Congress reopened DHS after 40 days but left ICE and Border Patrol unfunded. Now Republicans want reconciliation to finish the job without Democrats. The shutdown is over in name only.