Nancy Pelosi agrees to a vote on Senate border bill in blow to House progressives
In a bitter blow to the progressive factions of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) agreed on Thursday to allow a vote on the Senate's President Trump-approved $4.5 billion border funding bill with no restrictions. The New York Times characterized the development as "a striking display of disarray and an unusual setback for Ms. Pelosi."
On Wednesday, the Senate had voted 84-8 to approve the emergency funding legislation for the U.S.-Mexico border, with $2.88 billion set aside for the Office of Refugee Resettlement and other funding funneled to the Defense Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The House's version of the bill did not include the funding for the DoD or ICE, and progressives had sought specific amendments that would have increased protections for migrant children.
Vice President Mike Pence reportedly privately assured Pelosi that the Trump administration "would voluntarily abide by some of the [provisions] she had sought, including notifying lawmakers within 24 hours after the death of a migrant child in government custody, and placing a 90-day time limit on children spending time in temporary intake facilities," a person familiar with the negotiations told the Times.
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Around two dozen moderate Democrats had joined with Republicans and driven Pelosi to fold. Nevertheless, the White House heavily criticized Democrats for the delay in approving the funding, Bloomberg reports, with the administration saying in a statement that it had "sent its request for emergency funding eight weeks ago, but there was no action."
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