By David Morgan and Nolan D. McCaskill
WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to open debate on a $70 billion bill to fund President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, clearing the way for a marathon of debate and amendment votes that Democrats will try to use to tie Republicans to Trump's efforts to compensate his allies and protect himself from tax scrutiny.
The move to advance the partisan funding bill for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border
Patrol toward a vote on passage later this week came days after fierce opposition among Senate Republicans forced the Trump administration to abandon plans for a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. Political fallout over the fund had already prevented Republicans from moving the bill forward last month.
Trump's recent actions, from the fund to his decision to name political ally Bill Pulte as U.S. intelligence chief, have gone down poorly with Republicans since he oversaw the primary defeats of Republican Senators John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy last month.
The Senate will hold hours of debate before initiating a lengthy vote-a-rama in which members of both parties will propose amendments they want included in the legislation ahead of a final vote on passage that could come as early as Thursday.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer vowed on Wednesday to bring a slew of amendments that would force Republicans to vote on Trump's fund, a deal that protects Trump and his family from future IRS tax audits, the Iran war, Trump's tariffs and actions by immigration enforcement officials, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens earlier this year.
“Even without Trump’s $1 billion taxpayer-funded ballroom ... the bill is rotten through-and-through,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Every amendment we’ll bring to the floor will demonstrate that Democrats are standing up for the American people and Republicans are selling out to Donald Trump.”
Democrats hope that their legislative onslaught will undermine Republicans in the November midterm elections, in which Democrats are favored to take control of the House of Representatives and could also capture the Senate.
But Republicans have shown little outward concern about seeing any Democratic amendments win enough support for passage, saying the decision to move forward with the legislation signaled that their 53-47 majority would have the wherewithal to withstand the attack.
Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis dismissed Democrats on Wednesday, saying: "They must have more free time on their hands than I do."
(Reporting by David Morgan and Nolan D. McCaskill in Washington, editing by Deepa Babington)
