Senate plans to advance reconciliation bill funding immigration agencies

Washington — Senate Republicans are preparing to move forward with a package to fund the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agencies as soon as Wednesday, following a back-and-forth over the Justice Department’s “anti-weaponization” fund that threatened to derail the long-sought funding.

Republicans have been seeking assurances from the administration about the controversial fund’s fate after a heated meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche last month. Blanche testified before a House committee on Tuesday that “we are not moving forward with the fund.”

The DOJ program, which aimed to provide taxpayer-funded payouts to individuals who alleged the federal government had been “weaponized” against them, sparked intense pushback on Capitol Hill. And some Republicans continued to express reservations Tuesday that prevented leaders from moving forward with the reconciliation package. 

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune appeared confident after Blanche’s testimony that Republicans have the support necessary to proceed to the legislation as soon as Wednesday. 

“We’re hopeful,” Thune told reporters at the Capitol, adding that he’s “keeping fingers crossed.”

The South Dakota Republican said “most of our members feel pretty satisfied” with Blanche’s comments, noting that they occurred during a public hearing under oath, despite Blanche’s refusal to put anything in writing.

“His comments were extremely helpful,” Thune said. “Whether they are enough for some of our members, we’ll find out.”

A handful of Senate Republicans have signaled that they remain skeptical, like Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas. Cornyn anticipated Tuesday that Blanche’s comments may not be “good enough for some people.” And the Texas Republican, who lost his primary last week after the president backed his opponent, shared a Wall Street Journal editorial on Wednesday morning that argued Republicans in Congress can kill the DOJ fund for good by barring money for its use. 

The anticipated movement on reconciliation comes after months of Democrats opposing funding for the immigration enforcement agencies. Republicans have been moving ahead with their plan on their own through the budget reconciliation process, which sidesteps the 60-vote threshold required to advance most legislation. 

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees unveiled the text of a $72 billion package last month to fund immigration agencies through fiscal year 2029, but were expected to release an updated version as soon as Wednesday. The original package would have provided $1 billion to the Secret Service for “security adjustments and upgrades,” including for President Trump’s East Wing renovation, where he plans to build a massive ballroom. But that funding faced intense scrutiny from a handful of Republicans, along with the Senate’s parliamentarian, and it is expected to be dropped from the final package.