Reconciliation Fight Moves to House as GOP Eyes Next Budget Push

The fight over the reconciliation package funding immigration enforcement efforts heads to the House, after the Senate approved the legislation.

The Senate voted 52-47 to approve the nearly $70 billion package, which funds Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through 2029. The passage came after an 18-hour “vote-a-rama” where senators offered an unlimited number of amendments.

Included among them were amendments to curb the anti-weaponization fund that the Trump administration wants to use to pay apparent victims of political persecution. All of them were defeated, unable to get 60 votes to pass.

Also defeated was an amendment to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and an ID to cast a ballot.

House Battle

House Speaker Mike Johnson can only lose two members of his caucus and still get the reconciliation package through the House. No Democrats are expected to support the legislation.

"We believe that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people, not give ICE another 70 billion dollar blank check," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

On the Republican side, wildcards include Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) who voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year and Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA). 

“I’ve made clear I will not support it unless reforms have been enacted and that position hasn’t changed,” said Rep. Kiley, now an independent who caucuses with Republicans. 

Also complicating matters is the fact that some Republican members will be back in their districts for primary elections.

Reconciliation 3.0?

House Republicans are reportedly considering a third reconciliation bill, and some members are pushing for an aggressive timeline to pass the bill before the August recess.

Provisions under consideration include cracking down on “fraud” in social programs including Medicaid, affordable housing initiatives, additional military funding, an overhaul of federal energy permitting laws, and potential changes to the tax code. 

“We still believe that there is a desire for issues of affordability, whether it’s housing or energy or health care. Obviously, the president has made it very clear that he cares deeply about recapitalizing our military, so defense has to be a piece of this,” said Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

The reconciliation process allows Republicans to bypass the filibuster, unlocking the ability for the party to pass budget legislation without any Democratic votes.