A foreign aid funding bill providing tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine and Israel passed its first procedural hurdle in the Senate on Thursday amid Republican confusion, without previously included border and immigration policies. did.
The $95 billion bill passed by a vote of 67-32, also known as a motion to limit consideration of the bill and advance it to a final vote. A three-fifths majority is required. Senators will now debate adding border amendments.
Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham, Pete Ricketts, Tommy Tuberville, Rick Scott, Mike Lee, Katie Britt, John Barrasso, Josh Hawley, Rand Paul, Roger Marshall, and Jim Risch voted against. . Sen. James Lankford, who negotiated the border provisions that failed to pass the Senate on Wednesday, also voted against it.
The plan includes $48 billion for Ukraine, $11 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian aid in Gaza and nearly $5 billion for Taiwan. The Senate is expected to continue debating potential border fixes and reconvene for a final vote that could advance the package to full passage.
Senate aides told FOX News Digital that Republicans are still negotiating which amendments to consider, a process that could take several days. The final decision on which amendments will be brought to the floor will rest with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.).
Senate passes long-awaited border bill, making major asylum changes
Schumer and McConnell (Getty Images)
“I want to see what the Democratic leadership agrees to. I’m not going to vote to shut down this movie until I know how it ends,” Graham told reporters before the vote. “Our borders are a greater national security threat than Ukraine in the short term. We have not yet begun to do what we can to protect them.”
On Wednesday, Democrats brought the bill to a vote after Republicans blocked the $118 billion bill, which includes numerous border and immigration provisions. Republicans previously said they would not approve funding for Ukraine unless it first secured its controlled southern border.
The border foreign aid package was announced Sunday night, dealing a blow to conservative Republican opponents who argued the package would normalize historic levels of illegal immigration and continue catch-and-release. Conservatives joined with some liberal Democrats to kill the bill, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer prepared to vote on a no-border package as a preliminary measure.
Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell supported the funding for Ukraine, but drew criticism from members of his own party who urged lawmakers not to allow foreign aid to pass through without securing the border.
“Support for our allies is more tenuous, and the security of American personnel and interests is even more in doubt than it was three years ago. In these circumstances, the Senate recognizes our own grave responsibility to invest in the hard power that America brings. “The president instinctively avoids commitments to campaigns and allies, and consistently avoids them for fear of being abandoned,” McConnell said Wednesday.
Immigration hardliners warn Congress that Senate deal will handcuff future administrations on border security
Migrants cross the border from Mexico and wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol, with the U.S.-Mexico border wall in the background, on Aug. 6, 2022, in Yuma, Arizona. ((Photo provided by Qian Weizhong/VCG, Getty Images))
The White House requested additional funding in October, but it was held up by Republicans who called for additional measures to resolve the record border crisis, including expanded asylum limits and limits on inland releases. Negotiators worked for months and finally released the document on Sunday.
In addition to the foreign aid package, the failed border package includes “emergency border authorities” that would mandate Title 42-style immigrant expulsions if immigration levels exceed 5,000 people per day on a seven-day rolling average. It was
The bill would shorten the asylum application process from years to months while narrowing eligibility, grant immediate work permits to asylum seekers, and fund a significant increase in border personnel and immigration judges. become. The package includes expanded detentions, an increase in the number of green cards, additional funding for NGOs and immigrant-hosting cities, $650 million to fund a border wall, and $650 million to recapture and resettle illegal immigrants. It also includes $450 million to the country.
The administration and negotiators have described it as the toughest border measures in years, curbing immigration, limiting asylum and leading to more deportations, but conservatives see it as a normalization of the crisis. Ta.
Senate packages tank immigration, foreign aid spending after Republican pushback over border rules
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with a U.S. Border Patrol agent while walking along the U.S.-Mexico border fence on January 8, 2023, in El Paso, Texas. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
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Some Democrats also say the bill is too harsh and doesn’t include amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the U.S., which immigration doves have long wanted included. opposed.
Opposition to additional funding for Ukraine is growing among Republicans, especially in the House of Representatives.
On Tuesday, House Republicans instead sought to pass a standalone bill that would provide aid only to Israel. It was rejected because 14 Republicans and 166 Democrats voted against it.
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