The Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that several elements of a Republican budget reconciliation package that would provide $70 billion in immigration enforcement funding do not comply with the Byrd Rule, and the entire package could be subject to a 60-vote threshold if it remains in the bill.
The ruling is a setback for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who hopes to put the bill to a vote next week, which would require Republicans to redraft or abandon some provisions of the plan.
Democrats hailed the lawmaker’s ruling as a major victory, but Thune’s spokesman downplayed it, saying it was simply a request for “expected technical fixes.”
“As Senate Democrats have repeatedly warned, we are prepared to review every line of this bill to ensure it complies with the Byrd Rule and the rules of the reconciliation process. While we hope Republicans continue to do whatever Trump asks, this is a victory for the rule of law and ensuring that children in immigration detention are protected by existing laws,” Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said in a statement.
Merkley said Democrats “are prepared to continue to oppose this bill.”
The lawmaker vetoed a portion of the bill that would have allowed funding to be used for initial screening of unaccompanied immigrant children.
The lawmaker ruled that the drafted legislation improperly funded some activities outside the jurisdiction of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
The lawmaker also ruled that the provision undermines decades-old protections for noncitizen children in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), according to a summary of the ruling released by Democrats before the Senate Budget Committee.
She also ruled that a section of the legislation that would provide another $2.5 billion for immigration-related provisions in the homeland security title of the One Beautiful Act of 2025 undermines the Flores Settlement Agreement and the TVPRA.
The Flores Agreement is a binding federal consent decree that sets standards for the detention, treatment and release of immigrant minors apprehended by federal immigration officials.
The Byrd Rule prohibits provisions of major policy changes that would have only a minor impact on the budget from being passed by a simple majority vote during the budget reconciliation process.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared the lawmaker’s ruling a major setback for Senate Republicans.
“Senate Republicans’ reconciliation bill tells you clearly who they are fighting for: Trump’s raids, Trump’s violent ICE agents and Trump’s gilded ballrooms, not working families. Democrats promised to fight this bill with all their might, and on day one, we forced Republicans to back down. They are already scrambling to rewrite key parts of their plan,” Schumer said.
Thune spokesman Ryan Wrasse said Democrats were exaggerating the significance of the ruling.
He posted on the social platform
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