- House set to vote on $70 billion ICE funding bill after Senate approval
- Local father identified as hero who confronted knifeman in Belfast
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UK public borrowing exceeds official forecast in September
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Government borrowing overshot official projections in September, which is a sign of the difficult fiscal position that the Chancellor faces as she puts the finishing touches on her first tax and spending budget.
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Get you up to speed: House to vote on ICE funding, ending months-long impasse
The House is set to vote on a $70 billion bill funding immigration enforcement agencies after the Senate approved it early Friday. House Speaker Mike Johnson expects the legislation to pass, with a procedural vote scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and final passage anticipated after 4:30 p.m.
The House Rules Committee convened on Monday to prepare for a procedural vote, scheduled for 1:30 p.m., with final passage expected post-4:30 p.m. if prior votes are successful. House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed confidence in the bill’s passage, although attendance concerns during primary season pose challenges for GOP leaders.
House Speaker Mike Johnson expects the $70 billion immigration enforcement funding bill to pass in the House, despite acknowledging a tight margin of error due to primary season attendance challenges. Meanwhile, Rep. Kevin Kiley plans to vote against the bill, citing concerns about the “strictly party-line process” and advocating for significant bipartisan reforms to interior immigration enforcement.
What remains unclear — It is uncertain whether House Republicans can secure sufficient votes for the bill despite the Speaker’s expectations.
House set to vote on $70 billion ICE funding bill after Senate approval
Washington — The House is set to vote Tuesday on Republicans’ $70 billion bill funding immigration enforcement agencies through the rest of President Trump’s term after the Senate approved it early Friday following weeks of roadblocks.
Barring any last-minute hiccups among House Republicans, passage would bring an end to the months-long stalemate over funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
The House is scheduled to take a procedural vote on the legislation around 1:30 p.m., with final passage expected after 4:30 p.m. if it clears the earlier vote. On Monday afternoon, the House Rules Committee met to tee it up for floor consideration.
House GOP leaders had initially expected to hold a vote late last week on passage, but delayed taking up the measure until this week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said Monday that he expected the legislation to pass, although he acknowledged that he had a very small margin of error and that attendance during primary season “is a real challenge.”
“We have to fund border enforcement and immigration enforcement, and everybody here knows that, so they’re going to have to put their personal preferences aside to get the job done,” he said.
But at least one member who caucuses with Republicans, Rep. Kevin Kiley, a California independent, said he plans to vote against the bill. Kiley had “very strong concerns” about the “strictly party-line process” and wanted to see “significant bipartisan reforms to interior immigration enforcement.”
House Republicans have been waiting for weeks for their Senate counterparts to send over the legislation. Both chambers had hoped to have the bill on President Trump’s desk by Memorial Day in order to meet his June 1 deadline, but those plans were impeded by the president’s request for $1 billion related to construction of a massive ballroom at the White House and the announcement of a nearly $1.8 billion Justice Department fund to pay people who claim they were politically persecuted.
Rare GOP pushback against the president’s priorities forced Senate Republicans to delay votes until after their Memorial Day recess.
Language for ballroom security funding was ultimately stripped from the legislation and the Justice Department said it would no longer pursue the “anti-weaponization” fund. Though the administration’s assertion about no longer pursuing the fund failed to convince some who were skeptical, a number of amendments to formally bar such payouts were defeated during a marathon session of votes in the Senate that stretched from Thursday morning into the early hours of Friday.
Republicans used the budget reconciliation process to fund immigration-related agencies. The process allows them to pass some fiscal legislation by a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing the need for any Democratic votes to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold. Democrats have refused to fund ICE and Border Patrol without reforms.
Jaala Brown
contributed to this report.
In:
Get you up to speed: Hero of Belfast who struck knifeman with Irish hurley stick identified as local dad | News UK
Maitiu Mág Tighearnán confronted an attacker armed with a knife in Belfast, using a hurley stick to defend a man being assaulted. The suspect, who has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, has not been publicly identified, and the victim remains in serious condition in hospital.
The suspect, believed to be Sudanese, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, with a kitchen knife recovered at the scene. The victim, in his 40s, remains in serious condition in hospital with significant injuries.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the attack as “sickening,” expressing gratitude to those who intervened before police arrived. The PSNI confirmed the suspect has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, while the scene remains cordoned off for investigation.
What remains unclear — The condition of the victim remains serious, but updates on his recovery have not been provided.
Local father identified as hero who confronted knifeman in Belfast
Dozens of people are chipping in to buy the ‘hero of Belfast’ who stopped a knife man from stabbing a stranger a pint.
Maitiu Mág Tighearnán has posted that he was the man who confronted the attacker in Belfast last night.
As others shout ‘He’s trying to cut his head off’ and keep their distance local dad Maitiu runs into danger swinging his wooden hurley stick and landing well-aimed blows to the suspect’s face.
The suspect breaks his hold and rolls over moments before police arrive at the scene in Kinnaird Avenue.
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‘I live just 30 minutes away. I just thought this guy deserves something for his bravery, so I just got on it as soon as possible.
‘I have reached out to him online, but he hasn’t got back yet. He’s obviously got thousands of messages coming through.
‘It’s all over Facebook, everywhere on my feed is just full of pictures of him praising his bravery.’
Maitiu, himself, has been replying to social media comments saying how people could choose a more flattering photo of himself.
The victim, in his 40s, suffered ‘significant injuries to his eyes and serious slash wound injuries to his back and face’, police have said.
He remains in a serious condition in hospital.
Niall added: ‘For sure, he definitely has saved his life, providing the victim’s condition doesn’t worsen.
‘He’s given the man a chance. The hurley stick is such an Irish symbol – it is amazing what he did.’
He added: ‘If we can take anything from this horrific story, we can take pride in knowing that we can look out for each other. We should look out for each other, and that’s the beautiful thing about human connection and our society.’
PSNI chief constable Sir Jon Boutcher said the suspect, understood to be Sudanese, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder.
A kitchen knife was also found at the scene.
The suspect is believed to have entered Northern Ireland via Dublin and in February 2023 claimed asylum. It is understood the Home Office granted the man leave to remain in Northern Ireland on 28 September 2023.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, hailed the men who intervened before police arrived, saying: ‘The horrific attack in Belfast last night is sickening.
‘I have absolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets.
‘My thoughts are first and foremost with the victim, and I thank the first responders, including members of the public who intervened.’
The scene outside an apartment complex off Kinnaird Avenue in the lower Antrim Road area remained cordoned off on Tuesday morning, with markers visible on the ground where the attack had taken place.
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