Republican leaders in Congress scored some victories this week in nominations and appropriations but struck out on easily advancing their partisan “reconciliation 2.0” proposal to fund immigration enforcement.
The bill faces a hurdle in the form of the Senate Parliamentarian, who on Thursday evening advised that several provisions violate the Senate’s restrictive Byrd rule — and more could be coming.
This throws an obstacle in the way of the GOP’s efforts to provide some $72 billion in funding for immigration enforcement by President Donald Trump’s June 1 deadline, as Republicans will have to rewrite parts of the package to pass it with the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process, requiring a simple-majority vote to pass, instead of the 60-vote threshold required for regular legislation.
Republicans are expected to try to rewrite the legislation to remedy the violations or, if that’s not possible, remove the offending provisions ahead of a Homeland Security Committee markup of the title next week.
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough was expected to hold a second “Byrd bath” Friday to hear arguments from Democratic and Republican Senate staff about the Judiciary Committee’s portion of the bill, including Secret Service money for security upgrades tied to Trump’s White House ballroom project.
