A June 1 deadline for restoring Department of Homeland Security funding was not met because Senate Republican leaders were not ready to fund two key components. The funding freeze affected Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Democrats refused to provide votes needed to fund those agencies after earlier reform efforts were rebuffed amid major controversies. Republicans attempted a procedural workaround using only their votes, but the Department of Justice announced an “Anti-Weaponization” Fund using nearly $1.8 billion to compensate people prosecuted or investigated under President Joe Biden. Many expected to qualify were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, including people convicted of beating police officers. Some Senate Republicans rejected the fund, with Thom Tillis calling it “stupid on stilts.”
"Because in spite of a June 1 deadline set by President Trump, Senate Republican leaders were not ready to restore funding for two key components of the Department of Homeland Security. We have reached the point where the phrase “homeland security” swiftly translates to political insecurity, and that brings the legislative machinery in Congress to a halt as the midterm elections loom."
"Anyone following the president's second term thus far will not be surprised that the latest DHS freeze-up concerns the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Democrats have refused to provide the votes needed to fund those agencies after being rebuffed in their efforts at reform in the face of major headline-grabbing controversies."
"Earlier this month, Republicans thought they had a procedural workaround to get the money flowing to these parts of DHS with their own votes alone. But then the Department of Justice announced a new “Anti-Weaponization” Fund that would use nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer money to compensate people who said they had been prosecuted or investigated by the department under former President Joe Biden."
"Widely expected to be first in line for compensation were many who were prosecuted or investigated for their roles or reactions to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, including those convicted of beating police officers as they defended the House and Senate chambers. This week, that proved too much for many Senate Republicans. Thom Tillis, the retiring GOP senator from North Carolina, called the fund “stupid on stilts.”"
Read at www.npr.org
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]