The Senate vote on the Democrats’ proposal aimed at sending the GOP immigration bill back to committee prompted a long series of votes extending well into the night.
Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat and the minority leader, was actively engaged during the votes. Credit: Demetrius Freeman/The New York Times
Published: June 4, 2026
Updated: June 5, 2026, 1:32 a.m. ET
Senate Republicans managed to defeat the Democrats’ motion to prohibit President Trump from creating a fund for compensating his political allies. This motion was part of an extended voting session related to the GOP’s immigration crackdown bill.
The Republican-led bill aimed to allocate $70 billion for immigration enforcement through the remainder of Trump’s term. With an election year at stake, Republicans highlighted this bill as a key priority.
Recently, the bill faced challenges due to rare dissent among Republicans against Trump’s requests, including a $1 billion ballroom project and a $1.8 billion fund for alleged government victims.
Senator John Thune from South Dakota acknowledged struggles with the fund. He mentioned, “This would have been done several hours ago if we weren’t having to deal with some of the issues around the fund.”
Despite internal GOP tensions, most Republicans united to reject Democrat efforts to constrain Trump’s actions across various matters.
The initial vote addressed a motion by Chuck Schumer to remit the immigration bill to committee and restrict the fund’s establishment. This motion narrowly failed at 50 to 49, although three Republican senators—Susan Collins, Jon Husted, and Dan Sullivan—joined Democrats in supporting the motion.
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