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Congress returns facing looming deadlines, unfinished business and internal Republican divisions as the midterm elections draw closer.
Lawmakers left Washington ahead of Memorial Day on the cusp of passing a massive immigration enforcement funding package. Doing so would have allowed Republicans to tackle other outstanding priorities.
Instead, the budget reconciliation process — which Republicans planned to use to funnel roughly $72 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol — stalled after a surprise move by the Trump administration exposed deep divisions within the GOP.
SENATE GOP ERUPTS OVER TRUMP DOJ ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND, PUNTS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING
Now, the setback in the reconciliation process threatens to further push back other key agenda items, including the fast-approaching deadline to reauthorize a critical spy law, a colossal defense policy bill and a potential affordability-focused legislative package.
The Senate is currently stuck on the reconciliation package after the Department of Justice unveiled its nearly $2 billion “anti-weaponization” fund geared to provide payouts to those who feel wronged by the government.
Senate Republicans erupted over the fund during a closed-door meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, demanding answers on whether people convicted of assaulting police officers during the riots of Jan. 6, 2021, would be allowed to get access to the taxpayer-funded money.
Little has changed between the Senate GOP and administration since then, with Republicans putting the onus of dealing with the issue onto the White House.
“The administration appreciated last week’s conversation and feedback,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “We look forward to additional conversations as needed.”
TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON $1.8 BILLION ‘SLUSH FUND’ THAT KILLED HIS AGENDA, SPURRED REPUBLICAN REBELLION
The House is expected to take up the budget reconciliation bill upon Senate passage.
But with no clear path forward, other pressing issues are beginning to crowd the congressional calendar.
Congress will soon have to address the looming June 12 deadline to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). It’s a fight that lawmakers have punted on twice now over bipartisan demands for reforms to the program, despite the Trump administration pushing for a clean reauthorization.
The spy law fight is one of the few horseshoe issues in Congress that blends Democrats and conservatives in a push for stronger privacy protections. While Section 702 allows the government to spy on foreign nationals abroad, there’s nothing in the law to prevent it from collecting data on Americans if they’re ensnared in those communications.
House conservatives are seeking reforms that would require warrants to surveil Americans’ communications, close loopholes allowing the government to buy sensitive data from brokers without a warrant, and curb overly broad authorities permitting the incidental collection of information, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: CONGRESS PASSES SHORT-TERM FISA 702 FIX, DELAYS LONG-TERM RENEWAL
GOP privacy hawks in the Senate, including Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., are expected to push for similar priorities in the upper chamber.
Meanwhile, in the House, Democrats are likely to force a vote to rein in the president’s Iran war powers that could pass with modest GOP support. House GOP leadership shelved a war powers vote last week amid poor attendance from Republicans.
Democrats are also expected to trigger a vote on legislation authorizing $1.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine and levy new sanctions on the Russian war effort. The measure faces an uphill battle to become law due to expected opposition from Republican leadership and the Trump administration.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is also facing pressure from a swath of House Republicans to get the ball rolling on a third budget reconciliation package ahead of the midterm elections.
Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that GOP lawmakers are having “great meetings” and he expects the conference to pass another budget reconciliation package by the end of July.
Pfluger’s Republican Study Committee has consistently advocated for a package focused on affordability issues across the housing, energy and healthcare sectors. Enthusiasm for a third reconciliation bill has been less pronounced in the Senate.
Congress is also beginning to make moves with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the colossal package that would open up $1.15 trillion to fund the Pentagon. It’s an annual must-pass piece of legislation that could be slowed by the more pressing fights on the Hill.
Several lingering issues facing Congress come as time is dwindling to complete work before the midterm elections. Lawmakers will be gone for their typical August recess, but will also have almost the entirety of October off to campaign.
That means that the next few weeks will be crucial, particularly for Republicans, who are trying to pass any outstanding parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda.
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