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Senate Republicans are inching closer to funding federal immigration operations for years to come, but first they have to plow through a marathon of votes Democrats plan to weaponize against them.
The Senate officially launched a “vote-a-rama” for Republicans’ budget resolution, the blueprint guiding the GOP’s push to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s presidency.
But, first, lawmakers must grind through amendment after amendment from Senate Democrats — and some Republicans — before voting to adopt the resolution.
SENATE GOP BLOCKS FIFTH DEM BID TO END TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS DIVISIONS GROW
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Republican senators held a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 24, 2026, discussing their latest offer to Democrats to reopen the Department of Homeland Security funding. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Some Republicans unhappy with the limited scope of the GOP’s latest budget reconciliation push have vowed to force votes on amendments addressing economic issues and a provision set to expire in July that prohibits Medicaid funding from going to abortion providers.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he would not block amendments from his own party from reaching the floor.
“We’ll see what our colleagues come up with, but we’re talking to them and their offices about strategy and the best way to move forward in order to ultimately succeed — and that is to get it passed in both houses and signed [into law],” Thune said.
SENATE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL IMMIGRATION FUNDING PLAN WITH $140 BILLION PRICE TAG AS DIVISIONS SIMMER
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., during a news conference after the weekly Senate Democrat policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 17, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But Senate Minority…
