Closing summary
A bill to enact hardline immigration policies and send aid to Israel and Ukraine’s militaries is not even 24 hours old, but is already facing opposition that appears insurmountable. The House’s Republican leaders called on the Senate to reject the measure, and said that even if the chamber passes the bill, they will not hold a vote on it. Back in the Senate, an increasing number of Republican lawmakers say they will not support the legislation. But the worst news of all for the nascent proposal may have arrived from GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, who called it “horrendous”.
Here’s what else happened today:
Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s majority leader, said the chamber will vote on the immigration bill Wednesday.
Joe Biden remains supportive of the immigration proposal, saying, “doing nothing is not an option”.
The special election to replace George Santos in a New York swing district could turn into a proxy battle over immigration reforms.
James Lankford, the Oklahoma Republican who was his party’s negotiator in the immigration talks, said voting down the proposal would amount to hypocrisy.
Migrant aid groups as well as a major union spoke out against the immigration policy changes.
Senate to vote Wednesday on immigration policy bill - Schumer
The Senate’s Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber will vote on the bipartisan immigration policy bill Wednesday.
The legislation also includes military aid for Ukraine and Israel, and is supported by Joe Biden, as well as the Senate’s Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell. But its prospects in the House appear dire, after speaker Mike Johnson said the legislation will not be considered. Meanwhile, a growing number of Senate Republicans as well as some Democrats have also spoken out against the bill.
In a speech on the chamber’s floor, Schumer said Wednesday’s vote “will be the most important that the Senate has taken in a very long time”, and blamed attacks from Donald Trump and others for undermining the legislation’s prospects.
“The $64,000 question now, is whether or not senators can drown out the outside noise, drown out people like Donald Trump who want chaos, and do the right thing for America,” Schumer said.
“I urge senators of goodwill on both sides of the aisle to do the right thing and turn the chaos out. History is going to look over our shoulders and ask if the Senate rose to the occasion. We must, we must act.”
