Month: March 2024

House Speaker Mike Johnson was helped by Democrats to pass a short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown before a Friday deadline. The House voted 320-99 along party lines to approve the short-term continuing resolution, pushing the funding deadlines back slightly to March 8 and March 22. Johnson hoped that an additional week could give Congress time to pass all remaining appropriations bills to fully fund the government through the end of FY2024.

The measure, brought up under “suspension of the rules,” required a two-third majority vote to pass; only two Democrats opposed the vote, along with 97 Republicans who voted against it. The vote marks the fourth time House GOP leaders have put a continuing resolution on the floor since September.

The funding bill will head to the Senate, where it is expected to pass before Friday night’s funding deadline. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “I hope the Senate can pass the short-term CR as soon as tonight but that will require all of us working together. There’s certainly no reason this should take a very long time. So, let’s cooperate and get it done quickly … As I said directly to the speaker over and over and over again, the only way to get things done here is with bipartisanship. And this agreement is another proof point. This agreement is proof that when the four leaders work together, when bipartisanship is prioritized, when getting things done for the American people takes a high priority, good things can happen even in divided government. And I hope this sets the stage for Congress to finish the appropriations process in a bipartisan way, very soon.”

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A federal judge in Austin, Texas has granted a preliminary injunction Thursday to temporarily prevent one of the strictest immigration bills in the country from going into effect. The Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the law, known as SB4, which was set to take effect in Texas on Tuesday, March 5.

SB4 would authorize local and state law enforcement to arrest migrants they suspect crossed into the state illegally; and it gives judges the power to order migrants to be transported to a port of entry and returned to Mexico regardless of their country of origin.

Judge David Ezra of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas granted the challengers’ request for a preliminary injunction preventing Texas officials from enforcing the state law. In a 114-page order (which can be viewed in full here), Ezra wrote that the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent make clear that states cannot enforce immigration measures without federal approval, and that the Texas law conflicts with federal law. He rejected an argument from Texas that the state’s authority to repel an “invasion” allows it to enforce SB4, writing that “surges in immigration do not constitute an ‘invasion’ within the meaning of the Constitution.” Lastly, he said that allowing Texas to enforce the law would mean states could override federal statutes, a discredited constitutional theory known as nullification.

In a statement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed “we will not back down in our fight to protect our state — and our nation — from President Biden’s border crisis. From the bench, this District Judge acknowledged that this case will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court could agree to hear the case, or let the lower court’s ruling stand as the final word on the issue.”   Abbott signed SB4 into law, arguing it’s needed to deter illegal border crossings. More than 2 million migrants were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents along the southern border in both fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the highest levels on record.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately appealed the decision, saying in a statement: “We have appealed this incorrect decision. Texas has a clear right to defend itself from the drug smugglers, human traffickers, cartels, and legions of illegal aliens crossing into our State as a consequence of the Biden Administration’s deliberate policy choices.”  The appeal will come before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which could pause the district judge’s decision while it reviews the case. Either party could ultimately ask the Supreme Court to review the appeals court’s action.

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