Senate Approves Funding Package Following White House-Schumer Deal

The Senate approved a mammoth government spending package Friday evening funding vast portions of the federal government and a separate stopgap measure temporarily funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Lawmakers voted 71-29 to approve the funding package, which was endorsed by President Donald Trump. Five Republicans — Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Rick Scott of Florida — opposed the measure.

The cohort includes leading fiscal hawks and Republicans who were critical of the appropriations package for not funding immigration enforcement for the full fiscal year.

The passage of the massive spending package came after the White House and Senate Democrats reached a deal Thursday to separate the DHS measure — funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — from five additional spending bills that passed the House on Jan. 22. Under the agreement, a stopgap funding measure, known as a continuing resolution, would fund DHS for two weeks and five appropriations bills that fund nearly 80% of the federal budget would be signed into law

The funding deal hit a snag after several senators, including Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, held up a vote for nearly 24 hours until various policy concerns were resolved. Graham secured commitments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune to hold a vote on sanctuary cities legislation and a provision allowing him and other senators to sue the government in response to former special counsel Jack Smith’s probe.

Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, unanimously opposed funding the DHS for the remainder of the fiscal year absent reform, citing the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.