WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Senate Republicans beat back several amendments Thursday as they worked to pass legislation to fund President Donald Trump鈥檚 immigration enforcement agencies, turning aside a Democratic effort to permanently block Trump from creating a to allies who claim they were persecuted by the government.
But Republicans still faced a gauntlet of amendments before the bill could advance, a test of party unity that could go late into the night. The biggest threat to the bill could be another amendment to ban the settlement fund 鈥� this time from Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who lost reelection last month after Trump endorsed his primary opponent.
鈥淚 feel optimistic that we鈥檒l get there in the end,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Thursday evening, while acknowledging he was not sure how the votes would turn out.
Thune has been pushing GOP senators for weeks to keep the bill focused on the funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, which Democrats have blocked since early this year, and to avoid adding new provisions that could complicate its passage.
If an amendment limiting the settlement were to pass, Thune said, it would be 鈥減roblematic鈥� when they send the bill to the House. It could also mean a White House veto of the immigration spending bill, which has otherwise unified Trump and Republicans.
The last time the Senate abruptly changed a Homeland Security funding package, in March, the House simply refused to accept it and left town.
Settlement fund roils Senate GOP conference
Still, the judgment fund, which was part of a settlement that resolves Trump鈥檚 over the leak of his tax returns, has angered many Republican senators.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said this week that the fund . But Trump, who has been at odds with Senate Republicans in recent weeks, raised new doubts about the settlement鈥檚 future Wednesday afternoon 鈥� just after the Senate had voted to start debate on the immigration bill 鈥� when he told reporters that the settlement is 鈥渧ery important鈥� and said 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know鈥� whether it is dead or on hold.
鈥淚鈥檇 have to ask the lawyers,鈥� he said.
The Democratic effort to ban the fund, the first vote of the day, was held open for around three hours as Cassidy, Jon Husted of Ohio and Dan Sullivan of Alaska withheld their votes. In the end, Cassidy voted against the Democratic motion and the two other GOP senators 鈥� both of whom are up for reelection this year 鈥� voted for it.
Senators defeated a second amendment from Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina that would also ban the settlement fund but would move the money to a separate anti-fraud fund at the Department of Justice. Most Democrats voted against the amendment, guaranteeing its defeat, but more than 10 Republicans supported it.
Tillis said the settlement fund, some of which could potentially go to Trump supporters who beat police and , is a political liability for the party.
鈥淚f Blanche says this is largely inoperative, why not use this moment to codify that?鈥� Tillis said. 鈥淥therwise, you鈥檙e 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鈥檙e not moving forward with.”
Amendments will be offered late into the night
It was unclear how Republicans would vote on additional amendments.
Cassidy, who had been in discussions all day with the Senate parliamentarian, said he still planned to offer an amendment to ban payouts from the settlement. He told reporters he may also offer an amendment to block a separate part of the settlement that would grant Trump and his family immunity from IRS audits.
Several Republican senators said they supported the idea but would have to see the final language before they decide. Sen. John Cornyn, who also lost reelection last month after Trump endorsed his opponent, said he agrees with the 鈥渢hrust of it鈥� but would wait to see the amendment. Republican Sen. John Curtis said the same.
Thune said it wasn’t yet certain whether the final bill could pass without some sort of prohibition on the settlement.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to find out soon enough,鈥� he said Thursday evening.
Democrats planned other votes through the night, including on Trump’s tariffs, his war with Iran and his immigration enforcement campaign.
鈥淎mendment after amendment, vote after vote, Republicans are going to have to answer to the American people,鈥� Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.
ICE and Border Patrol money has been long fight
Passage of the roughly $70 billion bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol would end the blockade by Democrats who after the fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents in January. The bill would fund the agencies for three years, through the end of Trump鈥檚 term.
Senate Republicans are using a to get around the filibuster and pass the budget legislation with no Democratic votes. But it has taken weeks to get the bill to the Senate floor as Republicans navigated various obstacles to passage created by Trump and the White House 鈥� including a $1 billion proposal for White House security that they eventually scrapped and the fierce bipartisan backlash to the settlement fund.
Democrats say any funding bill for the Homeland Security Department should place restraints on , including better identification for federal officers and more use of judicial warrants, among other asks.
After federal agents shot and in Minneapolis, Trump that the Homeland Security bill be separated from a larger spending measure that became law. But bipartisan negotiations went nowhere, and the department funding lapsed in mid-February with no agreement on changes to the Trump administration鈥檚 immigration enforcement tactics.
Congress eventually funded the rest of the Homeland Security Department at the end of April with Democratic support. But ICE and Border Patrol remained without regular funding, and Republicans launched a new effort to pass three years of funding for those agencies with no Democratic votes.
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