Senate Republicans pushed through a controversial budget blueprint early Thursday after an all-night vote series that would allocate billions of dollars to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol while completely excluding Democrats from the appropriations process, marking a significant escalation in partisan budget battles.
The Senate Republicans adopted their budget resolution, which sets up funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol and effectively cuts congressional Democrats out of the process entirely. It is the first major step toward unlocking the budget reconciliation process, which Republicans are using again after Democrats refused to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection without stringent reforms.
Bypassing Normal Appropriations
The Senate GOP's plan would fund both agencies for the remainder of President Donald Trump's term. Republicans want to front-load the agencies with over $70 billion out of concern that Democrats would never agree to allocate taxpayer dollars to them again. The extraordinary move represents a departure from traditional bipartisan appropriations processes that have governed federal spending for decades.
Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against the budget blueprint, breaking with their party on the procedural maneuver.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said, "America is crying out for relief from high costs, and you're here adding $140 billion to an agency that nobody — two groups — Border Patrol and ICE, that nobody respects in this country." Schumer's comments highlighted Democratic priorities around economic relief and concerns about enforcement agency accountability.
Partisan Divisions Deepen
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming said ICE and Border Patrol agents were not the problem, "Democrats are." Barrasso said, "Today's Democrats are a rogue and radical party. You deserve better than reckless Democrat hostage-taking. You deserve the tools and support from Congress necessary to carry out the mission Congress has given you. Our country depends on you."
Lawmakers moved through amendment votes, and Democrats offered several add-ons to the budget blueprint aimed at Republicans. Several Democratic amendments targeted affordability and economic issues and all failed along party lines, preventing any consideration of cost-of-living relief measures within the budget framework.
Concerns About Process
Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana threatened to derail the process and wanted to include a swath of amendments that would not have been considered germane to the resolution and were destined to fail without Democratic support. One add-on was a version of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility America Act. Kennedy said, "If you don't want to vote for it, don't. All I ask you is to think about it, to trust our Rules committee, to follow your heart, but take your brain with you. Because the American people, both Democrats and Republicans and independents, are questioning our elections." His amendment ultimately failed.
Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama said she was "disappointed that we are where we are, but I understand the need to fund these portions of this agency." Britt said, "I'm really disheartened, because I think it fundamentally changes the way that we move forward with appropriations, and not for the better. And I'm not for that at all."
Next Steps
Adoption of the budget resolution does not immediately kick off reconciliation. The House must now adopt the same blueprint or modify it, which would send the resolution back to the Senate and trigger another marathon vote session.
Why This Matters:
This budget maneuver represents a fundamental shift in how Congress allocates funds for federal agencies, bypassing the traditional bipartisan appropriations process that allows for oversight, accountability measures, and input from both parties. By front-loading over $70 billion to enforcement agencies through the end of Trump's term, Republicans are locking in funding levels without the reforms Democrats sought to ensure proper oversight and protection of civil liberties. The complete exclusion of the minority party from appropriations decisions sets a precedent that could undermine institutional checks and balances, while Democratic amendments addressing economic affordability—issues affecting millions of working families—were rejected along party lines. The process change acknowledged even by Republican Senator Britt as fundamentally altering appropriations "not for the better" raises questions about democratic accountability in federal spending decisions that directly impact communities nationwide.