WASHINGTON — GOP senators rejected multiple proposed changes Thursday night while working to approve funding for President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement operations, including turning down a Democratic proposal to permanently prevent Trump from establishing a $1.776 billion settlement fund for allies claiming government persecution.
However, Republicans continued facing numerous proposed amendments before the legislation could move forward, creating a challenge for party solidarity that extended deep into the evening. The most significant danger to the bill may come from another proposal to prohibit the settlement fund — this one from Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who was defeated for reelection last month following Trump’s endorsement of his primary challenger.
“I feel optimistic that we’ll get there in the end,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., stated Thursday evening, though he admitted uncertainty about how the voting would unfold.
Thune has spent weeks urging GOP senators to maintain the bill’s focus on funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, which Democrats have prevented since early this year, while avoiding additional provisions that might complicate approval.
Should a settlement-limiting amendment succeed, Thune explained, it would create difficulties when sending the bill to the House. It might also trigger a White House veto of the immigration spending legislation, which has otherwise brought Trump and Republicans together.
When the Senate suddenly modified a Homeland Security funding package in March, the House simply rejected it and adjourned.
The judgment fund, established through a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS regarding his leaked tax returns, has frustrated numerous Republican senators.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced this week that the fund would not proceed. However, Trump, who has disagreed with Senate Republicans recently, created fresh uncertainty about the settlement’s status Wednesday afternoon — immediately after the Senate voted to begin immigration bill discussions — when he informed reporters that the settlement is “very important” and stated “I don’t know” whether it has been terminated or postponed.
“I’d have to ask the lawyers,” he said.
The Democratic proposal to eliminate the fund, the day’s initial vote, remained open for approximately three hours while Cassidy, Jon Husted of Ohio and Dan Sullivan of Alaska delayed their decisions. Ultimately, Cassidy opposed the Democratic motion while the other two GOP senators — both facing reelection this year — supported it.
Senators rejected a second proposal from Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina that would similarly prohibit the settlement fund while transferring the money to a separate anti-fraud fund at the Department of Justice. Most Democrats opposed the amendment, ensuring its failure, though more than 10 Republicans backed it.
Tillis argued the settlement fund, which could potentially benefit Trump supporters who assaulted police and attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, represents a political burden for the party.
“If Blanche says this is largely inoperative, why not use this moment to codify that?” Tillis questioned. “Otherwise, you’re exposing every one of our members who are in cycle to having to deal with this between today and Election Day, and that makes no sense for something that the DOJ says they’re not moving forward with.”
Republican voting intentions on additional amendments remained uncertain.
Cassidy, who spent the day consulting with the Senate parliamentarian, confirmed he still intended to propose an amendment banning settlement payouts. He informed reporters he might also suggest an amendment blocking a separate settlement provision granting Trump and his family immunity from IRS audits.
Multiple Republican senators expressed support for the concept but said they needed to review the final wording before deciding. Sen. John Cornyn, who also lost reelection last month after Trump endorsed his opponent, said he supports the “thrust of it” but would await the amendment. Republican Sen. John Curtis expressed similar sentiments.
Thune acknowledged uncertainty about whether the final bill could pass without some settlement prohibition.
“We’re going to find out soon enough,” he said Thursday evening.
Democrats scheduled additional votes throughout the night, covering Trump’s tariffs, his conflict with Iran and his immigration enforcement initiatives.
“Amendment after amendment, vote after vote, Republicans are going to have to answer to the American people,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer declared.
Approving the approximately $70 billion bill funding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol would conclude the Democratic blockade, which demanded policy modifications following the fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents in January. The legislation would provide agency funding for three years, covering Trump’s entire term.
Senate Republicans are employing a complex procedural strategy to bypass the filibuster and approve the budget legislation without Democratic support. However, bringing the bill to the Senate floor required weeks as Republicans addressed various passage obstacles created by Trump and the White House — including a $1 billion White House security proposal they ultimately abandoned and the intense bipartisan opposition to the settlement fund.
Democrats maintain that any Homeland Security Department funding bill should impose restrictions on federal immigration authorities, including improved officer identification and increased judicial warrant usage, among other demands.
Following federal agents’ shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Trump agreed to a Democratic request separating the Homeland Security bill from a larger spending measure that became law. However, bipartisan negotiations stalled, and department funding expired in mid-February without agreement on Trump administration immigration enforcement changes.
Congress eventually funded the remaining Homeland Security Department at April’s end with Democratic backing. But ICE and Border Patrol continued without regular funding, prompting Republicans to launch a new effort providing three years of agency funding without Democratic votes.
