The Fight Against Reconciliation Expanding ICE/CBP Continues
A big thank you to all who participated in last week's social media storm against the MAGA Reconciliation 2.0. The Recon2 increases ICE/CBP funding by $70 billion until 2029 so that even if Democrats take back either the House or the Senate in the midterm elections, Congress won't be able to use its Power of the Purse to restrain or limit ICE/CBP abuses and atrocities. This will leave them free to resume and expand Minneapolis-style raids, sweeps, detentions, and abuses whenever, and wherever they wish.
If the MAGA regime succeeds in excluding Democrats and passing major funding and policy laws entirely and only with Republican votes, it will signal a major step towards one-party authoritarian rule.
Last week they failed to pass Recon2 in the Senate because all Democratic and six Republican senators refused to vote for it. So long as all Democrats and at least four Republican senators are opposed the bill cannot be passed and sent to the House where there is also at least a possibility of it failing. This week the Senate is in recess and won't return until next Monday (June 1). No doubt the MAGA regime is engaged in a furious backroom effort to bribe, bully, or blackmail at least three of the six GOP senators opposing the bill to switch their stand.
Our problem is that all of the six GOP senators who refused to support Recon2 based their public opposition on the Trump ballroom funding and Trump's $1.776 billion crony-corruption fund (AKA $1.8 billion "slush" or "weaponization" fund). We hope that at least some of the six also oppose the expansion/enabling of ICE and their exemption from congressional oversight -- but they didn't forthrightly say so.
The ballroom money has now been removed from the bill so that leaves the corruption fund. We are absolutely opposed to Trump's $1.776 billion corruption fund in any form whatsoever. Their scheme is based on the long-standing Justice Department appropriation for an existing, permanent, Judgment Fund. The Judgment Fund is a pool of money set aside to pay out fines and settlements won in court by people suing the federal government for redress of grievances. The MAGA scheme would allow Trump political-appointees to simply authorize payments from that fund to anyone who complains that they were unfairly treated by the Biden administration – without any public hearing, jury trial, verdict, or impartial ruling by a federal judge.
The corruption-fund issue affects the Recon2 vote because Democrats are (at long last) playing hardball by threatening floor amendments on the corruption fund that will force at-risk incumbent Republicans to publicly vote for it or against it -- which they do not want to do. But MAGA hawks in the House want to force votes in favor of the corruption fund as proof of their loyalty to “King Trump” and to please their MAGA base. So Republican leaders are trying to find a way to finesse this issue and somehow win back enough Republican senators to pass the bill. At the moment their strategy and tactics to achieve that goal are unclear.
However, regardless of what Republican leaders do about the corruption fund issue, we remain clearly and absolutely opposed to the core of the Reconciliation 2.0 bill that increases ICE/CPB funding and leaves them free to resume and expand Minneapolis-style raids, sweeps, detentions, and abuses nationwide. So even if the Trump corruption-fund issue in Recon2 is settled to the satisfaction of the opposing Republican senators, we still oppose the bill. And we must call on our Democratic senators and House members to fight it by every means possible.
Which is why we all need to stand ready later this week or early next week to quickly resume our opposition.
