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Border Aid Stalls as Divided Democrats Struggle to Add Restrictions In Defeat, Pelosi Agrees to Pass Senate Border Bill Without House Conditions
(32 minutes later)
WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Thursday struggled to attach thick strings to a Senate-approved humanitarian aid package for the southwestern border, pushing for cuts to the Senate’s $4.6 billion measure, as well as stronger protections for children and adults in migrant detention facilities. WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed on Thursday to clear the Senate’s version of emergency humanitarian aid package for strapped federal agencies dealing with a migrant crisis, jettisoning the House’s strict controls on the $4.6 billion in a stinging defeat that was ensured by Democratic disunity.
But a last-minute revolt by centrist lawmakers who balked at a funding reduction for Immigration and Customs Enforcement left the effort stalled, with the House floor in chaos, emotions running high and no clear path forward in the House. Pressure was building for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, to accept the less-restrictive Senate bill, which passed on a lopsided bipartisan vote this week and would do far less to rein in President Trump’s immigration crackdown. The change was a striking display of disarray and an unusual setback for Ms. Pelosi, who has been adept at navigating the political complexities of a caucus riven with powerful progressive and moderate factions that often work at cross purposes. On Thursday, their priorities clashed in spectacular fashion, and the speaker — who had put her reputation on the line, calling herself a “lioness” out to protect children as she held out for stronger protections in migrant facilities that house them — had to accept defeat.
“In order to get resources to the children fastest, we will reluctantly pass the Senate bill,” Ms. Pelosi said in a letter to Democratic lawmakers. “As we pass the Senate bill, we will do so with a Battle Cry as to how we go forward to protect children in a way that truly honors their dignity and worth.”
Her retreat came after Vice President Mike Pence gave Ms. Pelosi private assurances that the administration would voluntarily abide by some of the restrictions she had sought, including notifying lawmakers within 24 hours after the death of a migrant child in government custody, and placing a 90-day time limit on children spending time in temporary intake facilities, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
A last-minute revolt by centrist lawmakers ensured defeat for Ms. Pelosi’s efforts to toughen the conditions in the Senate bill. The moderate Democrats balked at a funding reduction for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, leaving the House floor in chaos and emotions running high. Ms. Pelosi was left with little choice but to accept the less-restrictive Senate bill, which passed on a lopsided bipartisan vote this week and would do far less to rein in President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“We already have our compromise,” Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, said on the Senate floor, calling his chamber’s bill “the only game in town.”“We already have our compromise,” Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, said on the Senate floor, calling his chamber’s bill “the only game in town.”
“It’s time to quit playing games,” he added. “Time to make law.”“It’s time to quit playing games,” he added. “Time to make law.”
The turmoil deepened a stalemate over what lawmakers in both parties have called a badly needed package of emergency humanitarian aid, with only 24 hours remaining before lawmakers are scheduled to leave Washington for a weeklong Fourth of July recess. Mr. McConnell vowed on Thursday morning to reject any changes that the House would pass, and the White House soon followed up with a statement calling on the House to quickly approve the Senate version. Liberal Democrats were left infuriated.
“We have already negotiated a broadly supported bipartisan funding bill,” the statement said. “It is time for House Democrats to pass the Senate bill and stop delaying funding to deal with this very real humanitarian crisis.” “No one should be advocating for the Republican proposal in the Senate if you’re in the House, especially given we had a strong vote from our caucus,” said Representative Mark Pocan, Democrat of Wisconsin and a co-chairman of the Progressive Caucus. “I just would hate to try to explain that back home.”
Shortly after the statement, Ms. Pelosi spoke by phone for about an hour with Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the negotiations for the White House, according to a senior Democratic aid who divulged the call on condition of anonymity. He later singled out the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of 23 Democrats and 23 Republicans, on Twitter for their push to to consider the Senate bill, asking “since when did the Problem Solvers Caucus become the Child Abuse Caucus?”
But by then, it appeared she was looking for a face-saving way out. Opposition from the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and several lawmakers from Republican-leaning districts forced House Democrats to delay a vote to bring up their measure in an embarrassing display of disunity. Moderate Democrats had threatened to vote against the rule for debate on the modified bill, a show of disloyalty to the leadership that is almost unheard-of under Ms. Pelosi. Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, said, “We are really, truly creating a whole generation of children that won’t forget what we did.”
“They are melting down, in disarray, and it’s the easiest thing in the world to do,” crowed Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 Republican. “There’s a bipartisan bill to solve a crisis. Everybody in this town knows the Senate bill is going to pass. Everybody knows how it’s going to end. We just don’t know when.”
The moderate lawmakers privately told House Democratic leaders that they were wary of supporting a bill that provided less money for ICE that could later be used against them in their re-election campaigns to portray them as weak on immigration enforcement, according to two lawmakers and several aides familiar with the discussions who described them on condition of anonymity.
The squabbling grew intense on the House floor on Thursday afternoon, as a scrum of the moderate members huddled in tense discussion about how to proceed. At least one, Representative Abigail Spanberger, Democrat of Virginia, grew visibly emotional and at one point stormed out red-faced, barking at a reporter who attempted to interview her: “I do not want to talk!”
The showdown was supposed to pit Mr. McConnell’s position that a lopsided vote in the Senate should be the last word against Ms. Pelosi’s effort to use the measure to rein in President Trump’s hard-line immigration policies. But that was undercut by Ms. Pelosi’s own members.
Representative Stephanie Murphy, Democrat of Florida and chairwoman of the Blue Dog Coalition, warned, “We cannot leave without addressing the issue at the border.”
In a briefing with reporters on Thursday, Ms. Pelosi made an emotional appeal for the changes Democrats wanted, saying they were a matter of helping children.
“If you start endangering children, I become a lioness,” Ms. Pelosi told reporters at her weekly news conference. “This isn’t about threats or challenges or anything, it’s only about humanity, and the courage to do what is right for the children.”
The legislation has posed a tricky political test for Ms. Pelosi, whose caucus has been deeply divided by it. Liberals, including some Hispanic lawmakers, balked at the bill early in the week because they feared it would only enable Mr. Trump’s harsh immigration tactics by funding the very agencies that have carried them out. They threatened to withhold their votes, insisting on adding new restrictions and stiffer standards for facilities that house for migrant children, as well as more conditions on how the funding would be spent. In the end, almost every Democrat supported the resulting House bill.
But on Thursday, another proposed change, an $81 million cut for ICE, sparked a brush fire on the right of the caucus. The centrists then pressed for Ms. Pelosi to take up the Senate-passed measure and quickly dispatch with it, infuriating the Senate bill’s opponents.
Representative Raul Ruiz of California, a medical doctor who trained in refugee assistance at Harvard and crafted the Democrats’ humanitarian standards, said that merely increasing funding for medical care, shelter and other needs would not be enough when a Justice Department lawyer argued in court that Customs and Border Protection may not be required to provide soap and toothbrushes for children in custody.
“This bill will fund a dysfunctional system,” he said. “There are no standards that will force them to comply and be accountable to a basic level of humanitarian treatment and humanitarian needs.”
While the bill would significantly increase the funds available to shelter migrants, he said, “It doesn’t say that an individual should have at least a two-meter-square space; it doesn’t say that temperatures should be kept in a humane range; it doesn’t say that lights and noise should be off between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. so we can respect the sleep of the families which is necessary for health.” Dr. Ruiz said.
Tragic images of the migrant crisis and details of the horrid conditions migrant families and their children face in overcrowded, squalid detention centers and facilities have intensified the urgency to pass any legislation, but it also hardened some of the Democrats’ resolve to fight for tougher oversight in the bill.
“It’s difficult to see how anyone would object to some protections that would enhance protection of children and transparency,” said Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the chairman of the House Rules Committee.
But Republicans argued that the overwhelming bipartisan vote on the Senate bill — and the blunt rejection of the House’s initial legislation — showed that the core bill should be allowed to move forward without changes.
“You’re going down a path that doesn’t ensure a presidential signature,” warned Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the House Rules Committee. “Frankly, I have some concerns that even the Senate version meets the definition of what the president will sign.”
“Why the majority would push for provisions that failed in the Senate is beyond my understanding,” Mr. Cole added.
The amendment, released well after midnight on Thursday, includes language ensuring the release of unaccompanied migrant children from temporary facilities after three months and allowing for lawmaker visits to facilities without notice.
It would toughen health and safety standards for detention centers and other facilities, provide money for a pilot processing program in conjunction with nonprofits and reduce some funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies. Under the House change, Customs and Border Protection would have to establish plans and protocols to deliver medical care, improve nutrition and hygiene, and train personnel to ensure the health and safety of children and adults in custody.
“We can’t spend all our time with a crystal ball trying to see what the Senate or the president will do,” said Representative Jaime Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, who argued that the House had a right to advocate its own legislation.
Members of the party’s liberal flank warned that it would be difficult for them to support any measure without additional protections and restrictions on the money.
Representative Norma J. Torres, Democrat of California, held back tears as she read aloud Ms. Pelosi’s statement announcing their intent to push forward with an additional amendment.
“We must ask ourselves, is this the America that we — that my son swore to protect?” Ms. Torres said, whose son is an Air Force veteran. “I don’t see that America when I hear the debate around what is right and what is wrong.”