Washington– Senate Republican leaders are expected to abandon a proposal to allocate $1 billion in security funds to the White House complex President Donald Trump Hall on Thursday after members of their party questioned the timing and lack of detail in the Secret Service request.
Under pressure from the White House, Republicans tried to add the money to an approximate amount $70 billion bill To restore funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. But the security proposal has been met with backlash from some GOP lawmakers who question the cost and how taxpayer money will be used.
The text of the bill has not yet been released, but the Senate hopes to pass it this week and send it to the House before it leaves for the week-long Memorial Day recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged “ongoing voting issues” on Wednesday as leaders tired of gauging Republican support, as well as “ongoing parliamentary issues” as they try to figure out what is allowed in the bill under the chamber’s rules.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-Los Angeles, said Wednesday that the bill would be “back to square one” without the security money because “the votes aren’t there.”
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said the effort to add the security package to the bill was a “bad idea” and he didn’t think there was enough support to pass it, even if the cost was reduced.
The controversy comes as Democrats criticize Republicans for trying to fund Trump’s ballroom when voters are concerned about basic affordability issues — and as some GOP lawmakers grow increasingly frustrated with Trump. Several GOP senators spoke out against the administration Settlement fund worth $1.776 billion It aims to make amends to Trump allies who believe they have been persecuted, and many have become upset with the president Tuesday’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton In next week’s party primary runoff against Sen. John Cornyn.
“There’s always an outcome to confronting U.S. senators,” Thune said Wednesday. “Obviously the president has his favorites and people he wants to endorse and that’s his prerogative. But what we have to deal with here is moving the agenda, and obviously that can get a little more complicated.”
The “Arms Control” Fund is part of a settlement that solves Trump’s problem Lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service Because his tax returns were leaked, he unexpectedly became one of the major complications in the bill. Democrats said they would force votes to block or impose restrictions on it.
Democrats have an opportunity because Republicans are trying to pass an immigration enforcement bill through a complex budget process that requires a long series of votes to amend. Democrats are considering multiple amendments, perhaps to block this new fund entirely or ban any payments to Trump supporters Harm law enforcement officers in January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
It is possible that these amendments, along with others, will be passed, with an increasing number of Republicans expressing reservations about the fund. So Republicans are now discussing their own last-minute additions to avert that, likely putting some criteria on the settlement and who could get compensation, according to two people familiar with the private discussions who requested anonymity to discuss them.
Thune — who said Tuesday he’s “not a big fan” of the settlement and doesn’t see a purpose for it — said Wednesday that any new language that would potentially place restrictions on the settlement is a “work in progress.”
It is unclear how any Republican changes in the Senate will be accepted in the House, although some Republicans there have also criticized the compromise.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, said on Wednesday that the House would approve the bill “in whatever form it takes.”
As Republicans challenged the compromise and parts of his agenda, Trump unloaded on the Senate in a social media post.
He urged Republicans to dismiss the member of parliament in the Senate, Elizabeth McDonoughwho said over the weekend that Parts of the $1 billion security proposal cannot remain in the ICE and Border Patrol bill. Trump also renewed his long-standing calls for the Senate to pass the SAVE Act, a Republican bill that would require all voters to prove US citizenship, and end the filibuster in the Senate.
Trump said Republicans need to “be smart and tough, or you’ll all be looking for a job a lot sooner than you think!”
While they have been loyal to Trump on most issues, Senate Republicans have resisted his repeated calls — even in his first term — to kill the filibuster, which triggers a 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
The growing dispute within the Republican Party is overshadowed by Trump’s sudden endorsement of Paxton. This interference privately angered Republican senators because it could cost them their majority in November, as they view Cornyn as the favorite candidate in the November general election.
under Secret Service request, about $220 million It will fund security improvements related to the ballroom. The rest will go to a new visitor screening center, training and other security measures.
Tillis said the bill should not include other security improvements “because it gives everyone a billion-dollar ballroom.”
Several other Republicans in the House and Senate have questioned the request, and senators left a briefing with the Secret Service director last week saying they needed more information.
People “can’t afford groceries, gasoline, health care, and we’re going to put a billion dollars into the dance floor?” Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy asked who He lost re-election in the Republican primary on Saturday After Trump supported one of his opponents.
Left in the bill is money for Immigration, Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, which Democrats have blocked for months in protest of Trump administration policies. Immigration enforcement campaign.
Democrats He called for reforms For the agencies, but negotiations with the White House yielded little progress. That’s what Republicans are Using a complex budget maneuver called reconciliation – The same process that allowed them to do this Passing Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill Last year – to fund agencies through the end of Trump’s term with a simple majority and no Democratic votes.
However, passing the law requires parliamentary approval and Republican unity.
“We’re working on it,” Thune said as he left the Capitol on Wednesday evening.
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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.