The Senate passed legislation Wednesday to give President Donald Trump $4.5 billion dollars in new border funding to fight the crisis at the border, setting up a battle with the Democrat-controlled House.
Senators voted 84-8 on their $4.5 billion bill, which includes nearly $3 billion in humanitarian aid, not long after the Senate failed to pass the House version of a $4.5 billion bill Wednesday after Democrats added a number of changes to the bill reportedly to garner more support from far-left Democrats.
The House measure did not pass the Senate after 37 senators voted in support, while 55 opposed it. It needed 60 votes to pass. This comes after the House passed the $4.5 billion immigration package Tuesday night following the additional changes.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, speaks during a bill enrollment ceremony for the Taxpayer First Act on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., U.S. on Friday, June 21, 2019. (Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
This all comes amid apprehension concerning immigrants that has increased every month since January. There have also been more than 100,000 encounters with illegal immigrants at the southern border in both March and April, setting the border crisis on track to be the worst it has been in a decade. (RELATED: Senate Rejects Border Funding Bill That Passed The House)
The White House request includes $3.3 billion for humanitarian assistance, $1.1 billion for border operations, and another $377 million for the National Guard and Pentagon to be able to function on the border.