Congress voted narrowly to fund President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, giving the Department of Homeland Security $70 billion over the next three years.
The House voted 214 to 212 in favor of the reconciliation bill on Tuesday, following the Senate’s 52-47 vote last Friday morning. Votes fell largely along party lines. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was the only Senate Republican to vote against it. Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI) initially voted against the bill – meaning it would have failed – but changed his vote after speaking with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole. hill. No Democrats voted in favor of the funding bill, which went through the budget reconciliation process to avoid the Democratic filibuster.
In a speech on the House floor before Tuesday’s vote, Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) criticized Republicans for using the budget reconciliation process to avoid negotiations with Democrats, and emphasized ICE’s lack of popularity among the American people.
Scanlon said, “At its core, this Republican reconciliation budget bill is a statement about priorities, and the priorities represented in this budget bill could not be more matched to the needs and values of the American people.”
Scanlon said DHS has yet to spend $100 billion of the approximately $200 billion it received under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. He said that by taking action against legal immigrants, Trump has not only expanded the reach of ICE, but also weaponized DHS against his critics. The bill would “overload” Trump’s abuses, he said.
After the House markup last Friday, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the bill not only lacks substantial reforms but also cuts funding for cybersecurity and the TSA, whose employees went without pay for several weeks during the DHS shutdown.
The funding bill comes at a time of deep unpopularity for ICE. A recent poll found that only 33 percent of voters approve of how the agency is doing its job.
And it comes amid another threat from border czar Tom Homan to flood New York City with ICE agents. In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Homan said he would send “more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen” to New York City if the state government passes a bill limiting cooperation with DHS.
Correction, June 9: A previous version of this story said Representative Tim Walberg voted against the funding bill. He initially voted against it but then changed his vote to support it.
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