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The Senate has kicked off the long, arduous process of debating amendments on a party-line budget bill to provide $70 billion to cover immigration enforcement for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term without any Democrat support.
On Wednesday afternoon, in a party-line vote, the Senate advanced what Republican leadership calls the “Secure America Act.”
The legislative push comes after Democrats refused to provide funding to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection during the longest ever shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
The party demanded restraints on the agencies in exchange for their support.
The bill follows the process of budget reconciliation, which allows for enacting sweeping budgetary changes with a simple majority in the Senate.
Under this process, a motion to proceed triggers 20 hours of debate, followed by what is colloquially known as a “vote-a-rama,” in which infinite amendments can be introduced.
Normally, the majority party advancing the bill simply votes to table most of the amendments in order to ensure the bill’s ultimate passage.
Democrats took advantage of the process, attempting to force Republicans into votes on controversial issues. In some cases, Republicans who could face campaign attacks in 2026 for their stances in the vote-a-rama chose to side with Democrats on measures that had little chance of becoming law.
For example, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced a motion to send the bill back to the Judiciary Committee with instructions to add a ban on creation of an anti-weaponization fund to compensate those the Trump administration considers victims of unfair prosecution.
The motion narrowly failed, but Republican Sens. John Husted of Ohio and Dan Sullivan of Alaska—both of whom are in competitive races in 2026—voted for it after Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., voted against it, ensuring it would not actually pass. The motion failed 49-50.
The Senate also killed an amendment from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., which would effectively block new construction at the White House without congressional approval—an attempt to put Republicans on the record on whether they support Trump’s ballroom project.
Merkley’s amendment, which required 60 votes, fell short of the support it needed.
However, six Republican senators—Susan Collins of Maine, Jon Husted of Ohio, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski and Sullivan of Alaska, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina—voted for it.
If the Senate passes the final bill, it will have to be approved by the House before going to the president’s desk.
Any House amendment would require it to return to the Senate for approval and undergo another vote-a-rama.
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