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Senate GOP delays vote on reconciliation bill amid opposition to DOJ fund, White House ballroom
GOP senators raised questions about a $1.776 billion Justice Department fund and $1 billion in ballroom security, stalling the party-line immigration bill.
On Thursday, Senate Republican leaders postponed a vote on a $70 billion package funding ICE and Border Patrol after objections to President Donald Trump's controversial "anti-weaponization" fund.
The Republican-only reconciliation bill provides about $70 billion for ICE and Border Patrol, two agencies excluded from earlier bipartisan funding packages amid Democratic demands for enforcement restraints.
Republican senators emerged from a closed-door briefing with The Justice Department with "more questions than answers," while lawmakers also weighed President Donald Trump's $1 billion request for White House ballroom security.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune aimed to pass the package before the Memorial Day holiday, but lawmakers leaving Washington will cause Congress to miss President Donald Trump's June 1 deadline.
Returning to Washington the first week of June after the Memorial Day holiday, Congress faces significant Republican resistance as it attempts to resolve the stalled funding package.