Trump’s BBB, or BUFB as I prefer to think of it included an insane amount of money for ICE. They now have a larger budget than the FBI. Trump of course wants them to have even more and funding for ICE and DHS is going to be getting a lot of attention in the next couple of weeks. Two (so far) Republican Senators are joining Democrat’s efforts to rein in ICE’s funding.
A quick refresher. Once a budget is agreed to there’s a batch of separate appropriate bills that have to get passed by Congress and signed by the President. Six of them didn’t make it to Trump to sign, and the government shutdown last fall was resolved when a Continuing Resolution was passed. The deal was to allow funding for those appropriations bills in exchange for movement on the Epstein Files. With the holidays coming up Congrees punted, setting up a new deadline for passage of remaining appropriations until yesterday. Friday, Jan. 30 at midnight to be specific.
The House had already done their part, but the Senate was a different matter. Democrats made another deal and yesterday five of the appropriations bills were passed, albeit with amendments. So, technically we are in a shutdown because the House will have to vote again on Monday but so far that seems like a formality. That brings us to the bill that covers DHS and therefore ICE funding. As Newsweek reports Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins voted with Democrat’s amendment to re-direct funds away from ICE:
Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted with their Democratic colleagues on Friday to repeal billions of additional funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and redirect those funds to Medicaid.
The measure from independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont ultimately failed 49-51 as the Senate advanced a broader funding plan.
Regarding that broader funding plan yes, the Senate advanced it by a vote of 71-29. In other words quite a few Democrats said ok. However as I’ve noted the appropriations bill covering DHS wasn’t part of the package and a CR provides two weeks to determine what will happen when it comes to DHS and ICE funding. Sanders’ amendment failed, but two weeks can be a lifetime in politics and concern has been growing in the GOP about ICE’s actions harming their prospects in the midterms:
The amendment vote underscored growing bipartisan discomfort with ICE’s funding trajectory and tactics amid calls for new guardrails at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have also called for Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s resignation or impeachment.
Do GOPers have reason to be concerned. Yes. Greg Bovino and his Nazi looking garb and rhetoric was sent packing. Reportedly he will retire soon. Bummer since after he retires his plan has been to move back to western North Carolina (I’m a transplanted Carolinian) to grow apples. But I digress. Tom Homan is in charge in Minneapolis now and while his rhetoric isn’t as in-your-face abrasive as Bovino’s so far there’s little indication Homan is dialing back ICE’s activities. I’m sure he’s put out word to the agents to keep their goddamned guns holstered unless someone is shooting at them, or at least pointing a gun at them and loudly making actual real threats. Still, they have months of habits under their tactical gear and masks and another killing will lead to a GOP bloodbath come November.
Collins and Murkowski are what pass for moderates in the Senate, but as things focus on the remaining appropriations bill other GOP Senators might join them. Democrats retaking control of the Senate was always a steep hill to climb but now they are within sight of the summit. Losing the Senate would be truly disastrous for Trump because he could forget about getting unqualified wack-jobs approved. Same for Vance if Mother Nature rids the world of Trump.
If throwing Bovino under the bus turns out to be a PR move and nothing changes, or worse someone else dies at the hand of ICE every GOPer who votes for the ridiculous amount of money ICE gets is going to have that tied around their necks. However taking money from ICE and putting it back into Medicaid would be one of the smartest move Republicans in both chambers of Congress could do. It might not save the House for them but would increase the likelihood of them keeping the Senate.
So get ready. This could turn into quite the fight during the next two weeks. You know what I’m going to say next: Contact your Congress Critters, especially if they are Republicans and make clear that a big chunk of the too much ICE funding needs to be re-directed to Medicaid. Remind them that a lot of hospitals in small counties in large swaths of MAGA country will be closing due to the BBB/BUFB. Over the next two weeks I can see Tillis shifting to support this. Maybe Rand Paul too. He’d rather see the Medicaid funding cut even more rather than restored, but perhaps he’s more concerned about his Party keeping the Senate.
That gets us to 51 votes. Others looking at tougher than expected races might join in and that could change everything. THIS is a way the rest of us can help Minneapolis beyond attending protests. Lobby like hell to downsize ICE. I truly believe that would have even Trump looking for an off-ramp.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
“Contact your Congress Critters, especially if they are Republicans and make clear that a big chunk of the too much ICE funding needs to be re-directed to Medicare. Remind them that a lot of hospitals in small counties in large swaths of MAGA country will be closing due to the BBB/BUFB…”
Denis, unless I haven’t been paying close enough attention, it’s not Medicare that was defunded in the BUFB. It was Medicaid. My disabled daughter is dying of brain cancer, and her Medicaid could be cut unless some GOP idjits in Washington figure out what a stupid move that would be all around. (One of my MAGA neighbors said to me, “Oh, they would never cut your daughter’s Medicaid because she is so sick!” Dream on! Just like DOGE’s “chain saw massacre” cut only “waste, fraud and abuse.”)