Congress

Dem support of immigration bill latest sign of vanishing Trump resistance

Published

2 years ago

January 9, 2025

In 2019, at the height of the anti-Trump resistance, several Democrats running for president staked out an unapologetically progressive position on immigration.

Asked at a debate if they would support decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings, the vast majority of White House hopefuls on stage raised their hands, making the calculation that the fired-up liberal base was appalled at then-President Donald Trump’s handling of the border and wanted a radically different approach.

The Washington Post reported at the time that White House hopeful Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) supported repealing criminal penalties for people crossing the border illegally who were pursuing asylum, and more than five years later, he veered to the center and joined another ambitious group of Democrats as they said they would vote to advance a Republican-led bill that would crack down on illegal immigration.

The sharp U-turn is the latest sign of the left’s crumbling resistance movement as the second Trump era dawns on Washington. On Wednesday, eight Senate Democrats — among them many of the party’s rising stars and potential 2028 presidential candidates — said they would move legislation forward to detain undocumented immigrants charged with theft or burglary, enough to open debate in the upper chamber. Dozens of congressional House Democrats, some of whom are rumored to be eyeing higher office, backed the legislation Tuesday.

It was a stark shift from Trump’s first term, when his so-called Muslim ban and family separation policy lit a fire under an enraged base, inspiring fiery protests that Democratic senators and House members attended. The street marches are no more, and in the wake of a landslide victory by Trump powered by backlash to President Joe Biden’s management of the border and a general change in public opinion on stemming immigration, a new reality has set in among Democrats: Trumpism is here to stay. And the effort to discredit Trump’s border policies has failed.

The sharp U-turn on immigration policy is the latest sign of the left’s crumbling resistance movement as the second Trump era dawns on Washington.

“The reaction in ‘16 was dramatic. You had the Women’s March immediately after the election,” said Mark Longabaugh, a former adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) presidential campaign. “This time, there almost is a level of resignation it seems. And so you haven’t seen much in the way of resistance so far. And, in fact, I think this is a signal that at least Democratic legislators in the Congress perceive a need to move to the center or move to the right on immigration.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), the first Democrat in the upper chamber to sponsor the House’s bill, known as the Laken Riley Act, urged his party to back the legislation and consider how voters in his battleground state would see the issue. Trump carried Pennsylvania in November, and Republicans swept down-ballot races there, too, ousting Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, whose name was nearly political royalty in the state.

“Pretend that you’re in a parking lot at Walmart in Scranton, and it’s like, ‘Well, I’m going to vote against the bill that allows people to deport people that were charged of crimes or they have a criminal record.’ How do you think that would go over?” Fetterman said. “That’s why we lose if you want to try to make that argument.”

During the 2024 campaign, Republican Dave McCormick attacked Casey as weak on the border and sought to tie him to Biden. Once known for his moderate persona, Casey moved to the left in recent years, including by embracing the anti-Trump resistance. Casey rushed to Philadelphia International Airport in January of 2017 to join protesters rallying against the travel ban barring citizens from several predominantly Muslim countries.

Last year, Republicans and their allies spent hundreds of millions of dollars on attack ads hammering Democratic candidates on their immigration stances and linking rising crime rates to an increase in illegal migration. On Tuesday, few endangered House Democrats were ready to take another vote that could be weaponized against them in the 2026 midterms.

Nearly 50 of them, many from vulnerable districts, voted Tuesday for the Laken Riley Act. Its namesake is a Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. And they will be joined by at least a handful of Senate Democrats, who have already pledged to support or at least advance it.

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), a rising star in his party, was one of the House Democrats who voted for the bill after previously opposing another version of it last year.

“No one seems to be reporting that these are two different bills, which is frustrating. Last year’s version included outrageous attacks on the administration, including blaming President Biden for Laken Riley’s murder,” he said. “This version stripped out all of the incendiary language attacking Democrats.”

A spokesperson for Hickenlooper, Anthony Rivera-Rodriguez, said that he “does not support the Laken Riley Act in its current form,” but “he’s interested in voting to proceed to the bill to amend it.” He declined to provide more details on how he would change the bill.

Another reason for the shift on immigration among Democrats is a broader desire for pragmatism during the next two years of united Republican control and a creeping fatigue that has snuffed out the party’s willingness to push back against a GOP agenda.

Democrats are still reckoning with their widespread losses last November, a process that has hamstrung their ability to mount an organized resistance movement. And a couple dozen Democratic members were elected on pledges to make meaningful improvements to border security. Their votes on Tuesday make good on that promise, regardless of whether the threat of future Republican attacks motivated their decision.

And there’s precedent for that stance. Democrats in the pre-Trump era had supported similar legislation to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records. Former President Bill Clinton signed a measure that required removal of non-citizens convicted of a long list of felonies while President Barack Obama’s administration deported more than 2.5 million people through immigration orders, the vast majority of whom had criminal records.

Other Democratic senators who signaled a willingness to join Fetterman in supporting the bill included Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and newly elected Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). Kelly, Fetterman and Gallego are rumored future presidential contenders. Hickenlooper, Peters and Ossoff are up for reelection in 2026.

The majority of the House Democratic caucus voted against the bill. But the 48 who voted yes is an increase from the 37 who voted for the bill when it came up for a vote last March. And the potential for Democratic support in the Senate means it could ultimately become law.

The bill targets a specific set of undocumented immigrants accused of certain crimes, and that narrow focus makes it more likely to pick up Democratic votes. But eight years ago, it would have been hard to conceive of so many Democrats bucking their party on a Republican-led immigration bill.

“In the past, I couldn’t even get people to say border security. And now you’re here: border security, border security. I think the parties slowly move in that direction,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who represents a border district in South Texas. “You can be for strong border security and still be respectful.”

Nicholas Wu and Daniella Diaz contributed to this report.

Congress

Trump needles Cornyn as Blanche remains blocked

Published

3 hours ago

July 31, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump goaded John Cornyn on social media Friday morning, accusing the Texas senator of withholding his vote on Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination in retaliation for Trump’s central role in his political demise.

Cornyn, who lost his May primary to Texas’ scandal-ridden attorney general, the Trump-endorsed Ken Paxton, has threatened to block Blanche’s nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee until the White House promises to permanently shelve its $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” in writing — something Trump appears unwilling to do.

“John Cornyn never had a problem with the so called “Fund,” which will not benefit me, but rather the great American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs and whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed by the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, until after I decided to Endorse and Support his Republican Primary opponent in Texas, who easily won the Nomination for the United States Senate,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Several Republicans bristled at the fund, which could have been deployed to compensate Americans who faced charges after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and which gives the president and his family audit immunity over taxes. At his July confirmation hearing, Blanche said that the fund, part of a settlement the president reached with the IRS, was defunct. But the administration has been “reluctant to change” the text of the settlement, Cornyn told reporters Thursday.

Trump signaled his continued support for the Jan 6 rioters on Friday.

“I will always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back for what they were forced to endure, their lives have been ruined!” he wrote. “Millions of people agree with me, as was proven in my landslide Presidential win, where this was a major subject of debate, and so did John Cornyn, until he lost his Election to an opponent that I Endorsed.”

On Thursday, the president suggested that he could punt a Senate vote on Blanche until after Cornyn — and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — leaves the chamber at the end of the year. Cornyn, however, suggested on social media that there are other Republican senators with concerns about the fund.

“After the midterms, who knows who’s going to be the next United States senator from North Carolina or Texas?” Cornyn told reporters.

Congress

Capitol agenda: The Senate’s fly-out agenda takes shape

Published

4 hours ago

July 31, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Republicans are prepping a jam-packed — if somewhat optimistic — agenda for their final week before summer recess.

Majority Leader John Thune wants to move stopgap funding through Dec. 11, bipartisan Russia sanctions legislation and a bloc of nominees — perhaps including attorney general pick Todd Blanche.

He’s also under pressure from President Donald Trump, administration officials and many of his GOP colleagues to adopt a budget resolution — the first step in unlocking another party-line spending bill.

Leaders are prioritizing the stopgap, though. Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) expects continuing resolution text to be unveiled later today, she told reporters Thursday, and an initial vote is expected Monday evening.

Still TBD: Collins wants to use the funding patch to block the Trump administration from putting political appointees in charge of approving grants — a demand Democratic senators are also making.

The decision is in Thune’s hands. He acknowledged a “handful of issues” are still under consideration with the CR, and said he’s “hoping both sides can come together and figure” them out.

As for the sanctions bill, leaders of both parties are still trying to work out a deal to fast-track the legislation amid concerns from some Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that it gives Trump too much tariff power.

In addition to the nominees package, Thune also hasn’t ruled out an initial vote on the landmark cryptocurrency bill both parties have spent months negotiating or teeing up a bipartisan college sports overhaul now in final stages of talks.

But the big question is whether Republicans can take a major step toward another reconciliation bill by advancing a budget resolution.

Thune met Thursday with Budget Chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who said he was “optimistic in terms of how things are kind of coming together.”

Republicans anticipate giving a number of Senate committees instructions for the bill, setting up a lengthy and politically painful process ahead of adoption despite pushes for urgency from the White House.

Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, was the latest official to head to Capitol Hill to try and light a fire under top Republicans. But GOP senators don’t necessarily see the urgency.

“The hard part is the president wants to be able to move fast, like an executive can move, and we’re a legislative branch,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). “It doesn’t move that fast.”

What else we’re watching:

— BLANCHE TEETERING: Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general isn’t dead yet. But it’s certainly on life support. The acting AG met with Cornyn and Tillis Thursday at NRSC headquarters, and one person familiar with the discussion said the group was “working collaboratively now.” But it would now be difficult to confirm him before August recess under Senate rules.

— FARM BILL TEXT: Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman said his farm bill legislative text — originally expected Thursday — could come Friday or Saturday. The bill, which is expected to include language allowing year-round E15 sales and a potential compromise on postponing GOP-led cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is set to be marked up Thursday.

Jordain Carney and Grace Yarrow contributed to this report.

Congress

Former MLB star Mark Teixeira to hit campaign trail with GOP leaders

Published

8 hours ago

July 31, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House GOP leaders are planning to bring former MLB star Mark Teixeira, one of their top candidate recruits this cycle, out on the trail in battleground districts over the summer recess sprint.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise will host a fundraiser with Teixeira in New York City on Aug. 20 with Speaker Mike Johnson as a special guest, according to three people with direct knowledge of the event, granted anonymity to discuss plans that have not yet been made public.

It’s part of a New York swing where Teixeira and Johnson will also hit nearby stops in GOP Rep. Mike Lawler’s 17th Congressional District and for Mike LiPetri, who is trying to unseat Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi in New York’s 3rd Congressional District.

Teixeira is running to replace GOP Rep. Chip Roy in Texas’ 21st Congressional District. He won a World Series title with the Yankees in 2009 and also played for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels before retiring from professional baseball in 2016 after 14 seasons.

Because Teixeira has little chance of losing in the deep-red seat, Republican leaders are hoping to harness his star power to boost their candidates in the most competitive races. They’re planning for Teixeira to help campaign in a wider swath of battleground districts in August and through November, including likely stops in Pennsylvania and Georgia.