GOP Senators Pass Funding Bill Clashing with Trump Priorities Before Recess
Key Takeaways
- •Senate Republicans approved a spending bill before recess that defies multiple Trump administration demands while aiming to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year.
- •The bill opposes the administration's proposal to replace career civil servants with political appointees in reviewing and approving federal grants.
- •Democratic-backed provisions in the Senate bill block new funding for ICE and Border Patrol, drawing strong opposition from House Republicans.
- •The Senate adjourned without voting on Trump's SAVE America Act despite the president's repeated calls for its passage ahead of the midterms.
- •The House has not yet advanced its own version of the funding bill, leaving the October 1 shutdown threat unresolved and setting up a difficult reconciliation process.
Republican senators departed for a five-week recess after setting the stage for a confrontation with President Donald Trump's agenda, according to a Politico report.
Before adjourning until September, GOP senators passed a spending bill designed to avert a government shutdown at the close of the fiscal year. However, the bill pushed back against several demands from the Trump administration and its MAGA allies.
The Senate's funding legislation targets the Trump administration's contentious proposal to install political appointees in charge of reviewing and approving federal grants. Federal grants — which distribute hundreds of billions of dollars annually for scientific research, infrastructure, education, and social programs — have traditionally been vetted by career civil servants using established competitive criteria. According to Politico, lawmakers are already bracing for what they expect to be a year-end "brawl." Meanwhile, the House has yet to advance its own funding bill, leaving the threat of an October 1 shutdown unresolved.
Sen. Susan Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, stated she will "continue to oppose" the administration's plan, adding, "because I think they politicize the grants process, and I don't want that to occur." On the other side of the intraparty divide, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told reporters he intends to "fight like hell" in December to push through the Trump administration's proposed overhaul of the federal grant system.
The Senate also adjourned without taking up Trump's SAVE America Act, despite the president's repeated public calls for its passage ahead of the midterms.
Additionally, the funding bill adopted language pushed by Democrats that blocks Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol from receiving new money through the measure. This is notable given that Republicans previously approved $70 billion in funding for those agencies earlier in the year. House Republicans are anticipated to forcefully oppose the provision.
The divide highlights the broader challenge of reconciling competing House and Senate versions of spending legislation before the fiscal year ends. Congress has increasingly relied on short-term continuing resolutions in recent years to prevent shutdowns when the chambers cannot agree on full-year funding bills.
Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL) said in an interview that excluding ICE and Border Patrol from the new federal funding "could be a dealbreaker," adding that he is "not a fan" of the Senate's language. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) echoed that view, stating, "I do not like the Senate language" and "I would want to know what the president thinks."
