Senate votes to kickstart partisan funding process for ICE. Here's how that works
NPR | By Barbara Sprunt
Published April 23, 2026 at 4:00 AM CDT
Updated April 23, 2026 at 1:27 PM CDT
After a marathon vote-a-rama that dragged from Wednesday night into the early hours Thursday, the Senate adopted a GOP budget blueprint to provide roughly $70 billion to fund immigration enforcement agencies through President Trump's term.
This comes as the Department of Homeland Security has faced a record-breaking partial shutdown, after Senate Democrats refused to fund the department unless major policy changes to immigration enforcement were made, following the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents earlier this year.
Because compromise between the two parties is off the table, Senate Republicans are turning to a budget tool called reconciliation, which would enable them to fund immigration enforcement agencies without the need for Democratic support. It's a lengthy and arduous process. It's been used by both parties to implement major priorities along party lines, including President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Ultimately, Senate Republicans ultimately adopted the plan with a 50-48 vote. GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky joined Democrats in voting against the measure. Two senators were absent for personal reasons
https://www.wuwm.com/politics-government/2026-04-23/senate-votes-to-kickstart-partisan-funding-process-for-ice-heres-how-that-works