A GOP reconciliation bill for immigration enforcement survived its first key test Thursday as the Senate kicked off its amendment “vote-a-rama” amid bipartisan anger over a Justice Department “anti-weaponization” fund.
On a 49-50 vote, the Senate rejected a procedural motion by Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., to send the bill back to the Judiciary Committee, a move that would have effectively killed it. Schumer was seeking to use that maneuver to push for a prohibition against what critics called a nearly $1.8 billion “slush fund” for Trump loyalists who broke the law.
While some Republicans want to prohibit or restrict the fund through legislation, they proved unwilling to derail the entire bill. Still, three Republicans facing reelection this year —Susan Collins of Maine, Jon Husted of Ohio and Dan Sullivan of Alaska — supported Schumer’s motion.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who lost his reelection bid in the primaries in large part thanks to President Donald Trump’s opposition, is another vocal critic of the “anti-weaponization” fund and wants to see a prohibition written into law. He held back his vote on the Schumer motion for much of the extended period the tally was held open, before eventually voting against it.
