Senate Republicans blocked the border security bill from advancing Wednesday after significant pushback.
A motion to proceed on the bill failed 49-50. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Mitt Romney of Utah voted to pass the legislation.
A handful of Democrats also voted no. Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders opposed the military aid to Israel while Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren and New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez also voted in opposition.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would move to put a package on the floor focusing on foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other initiatives that do not include border security.
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 05: U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) walks to the Senate chamber at the U.S. Capitol on February 05, 2024 in Washington, DC. The Senate is working on bringing a bipartisan border security bill to the floor later this week which will provide border security enhancements as well as funding for Ukraine’s war with Russia, funds for Israel and humanitarian aid to Gaza. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The Senate released the long-awaited text of a border package in exchange for Ukraine aid. The bill would appropriate $48 billion to Ukraine, and nearly $16 billion to Israel and fund border security measures. Among the border provisions include more funds for hiring new immigration judges to expedite the processing of asylum and deportation proceedings as well as law enforcement to detain and remove illegal migrants. (RELATED: ‘It’s Our Job!’: GOP Rep Spars With Fox & Friends Host Over Border Bill)
JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 01: U.S. Border Patrol agents check identification papers of asylum seeking migrants before they are transported to a Border Patrol processing center on December 1, 2023 in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. The remote community, with a population of 600, has seen a recent influx of hundreds of immigrants arriving daily and sheltering in makeshift camps in the desert cold as they await transfer to established U.S. Border Patrol detention centers which have limited capacity. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The bill includes a provision that says the border can remain open so long as less than 5,000 migrants enter daily. Under the bill, authorities can remove migrants without removal proceedings if the week-long average of entries increases to more than 5,000 per day. The process would continue until the two-week average number of illegal entries decreases to 3,750 persons per day.
House Republicans have indicated it would be dead on arrival, arguing it doesn’t do enough to secure the border.