Senate Republicans pulled an all-nighter and finally delivered one of President Donald Trump’s biggest legislative victories of his second term on Friday.
The senate passed $70 billion immigration enforcement funding package that locks in money for ICE and the Border Patrol to protect America through the rest of his presidency.
The Senate voted 52-47 early Friday morning to pass the bill after a grueling 19-hour session, sending it to the House for final passage.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called it a decisive win for the White House and the American people.
“America will be safer,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham.
The money includes $38.6 billion for ICE and $22.6 billion for Border Patrol, along with $5 billion for the the overall funding of Department of Homeland Security and $108.5 million to help child exploitation investigations.
It is designed to end a months-long Democrat-led funding halt that had hobbled the agencies carrying out Trump’s deportation campaign.
Democratic leaders had blocked the funding in January and caused a 76-day DHS shutdown before Republicans agreed to fund non-immigration portions of the department separately. That standoff left ICE and Border Patrol without fresh appropriations for months despite having $100 billion in previously earmarked DHS funds.
Republicans used the budget reconciliation process to get the bill through with a simple majority, bypassing the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster. Not a single Democrat voted for the package.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-A.K., was the only Republican to vote against it, and said she opposed the bill because it circumvented the Senate’s regular bipartisan appropriations process.
Some Republicans privately warned the bill could be Trump’s last significant win before midterm elections make the Capitol floor more treacherous. The House is on recess and is expected to take up the measure next week. The White House has said Trump will quickly sign it once it crosses his desk.