(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) Threatened with a potential government shutdown unless a deal is reached by Friday on a massive federal spending spree laden with political pork and leftist pet projects, the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill fast-tracking its way through Congress hit a snag Wednesday, when a Title 42 amendment introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, slowed the bill to a stall.
Lee made the audacious request to have the bill’s passage include an up-or-down vote on an amendment that would preserve Title 42, a Trump-era immigration policy that is currently preventing the southern border from erupting into full-scale chaos with the release into the country of thousands of illegal aliens amassed at border states.
Democrats balked, Lee said, because the amendment would pass and “that terrifies them because they want chaos on the border.” Instead of a simple majority threshold, Democrats, under the direction of Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, pushed for a 60-vote tip for adoption.
1) A dispute over Title 42 could upend the omnibus spending bill and prevent the Senate from voting on the bill overnight.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) insists that the Senate vote on a plan to preserve Title 42 for the border.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) December 22, 2022
Omnibus hits turbulence over a GOP Title 42 amendment that could pass the Senate and sink the legislation in the House. Votes are delayed, not happening tonight as expected hours ago. https://t.co/O9fFdKaogi
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) December 22, 2022
In the wee hours of 2 a.m. Thursday, Schumer was holding forth on the Senate floor trying to assure that an agreement was near to salvage the $1.7-trillion spending plan without having to take any meaningful action to help secure the border, according to Roll Call.
“It is my expectation we will be able to lock in an agreement on the omnibus tomorrow morning,” Schumer said. “We are very close, but we’re not there yet.”
Schumer vowed to reconvene the session at 8 a.m. Thursday for a vote that he said would “bring everybody here to get final agreement and then to move forward.” Others were less certain.
Omnibus problems right now:
—Dispute over an immigration amendment threatens to disrupt the coalition to pass it
—A fearsome DC storm could complicate vote timing
—Lawmakers want to go home for Christmas
—Government shuts down Friday
—Republicans control the House in 13 days
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) December 22, 2022
Yet another massive dose of largesse for Ukraine, nearly $45 billion, was part of the omnibus that could be derailed, even as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also on Wednesday, was being feted and praised as he hit the U.S. up for more cash.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, RINO-Swamp, was helping to lead the cheerleading, insisting that Republicans thought giving more loot to Zelenskyy was a top priority.
Mitch McConnell helps pass a nearly $2 TRILLION Onnimonster so that he can hand a $47 BILLION dollar check to Zelenskyy when he shows up in DC today.
But in my district, many families & seniors can’t afford food & many businesses are struggling bc of Biden policies.🧵1/8
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 21, 2022
Instead of opening the $1.7-trillion floodgate by passing the omnibus bill, Lee and other conservatives urged support for a short-term spending plan that would give room to restart the funding process in January, with the new Republican House majority in place.
“In the meantime, all Senate Republicans should be ready and willing to return to the Capitol to support Title 42, even on short notice,” Lee said.
