Senate Republicans eye votes on immigration, Israel

News: Senate Republican leaders are planning a strategy ahead of the inauguration that focuses on two pieces of legislation that are likely to divide Democrats.

The bills have garnered bipartisan support but are politically difficult votes for Democrats. They are among those who fell by the wayside under Democratic control last year, in one case causing the virtual shutdown of a key Senate committee.

Republican leaders plan to vote on two measures approved by the then-majority leader Chuck Schumer A controversial immigration bill was blocked last year, followed by a bill sanctioning the International Criminal Court over its attacks on Israel, according to several Republican senators and leaders.

As we reported, Senate Majority Leader John Thune took procedural steps Monday to prepare for votes on immigration legislation, the Laken Riley Act. The bill, which would give law enforcement more power to detain illegal immigrants accused of crimes, could come to a vote as early as this week. The House of Representatives is voting on the measure today.

Some news: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) joins 50 Senate Republicans in supporting the Laken Riley Act. Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Ted Budd (RN.C.) support the now bipartisan package.

The ICC We are told that the sanctions law is expected to be passed shortly afterwards. It’s unclear whether either could get the required 60 votes.

The strategy: The new GOP majority in the Senate can’t do so much on the ground until the president is elected Donald Trump will be inaugurated on January 20th. Until then, most of the action takes place offstage. Trump’s Cabinet nominees are continuing their meetings with senators this week, and many are expected to attend confirmation hearings next week.

The Immigration and Israel Laws In particular, last year’s bills were highly controversial, although both received modest Democratic support when considered in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The Laken Riley Act is named after a Georgia student who was killed by an undocumented immigrant. Republicans introduced the bill to highlight the consequences of the Biden administration’s border policies.

In the meantime, Partisan tensions over the ICC sanctions bill left the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a state of unprecedented paralysis last year when we reported on it. Democrats’ refusal to take up the bill in committee prompted the panel’s current chairman, Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) to block committee action on all nominations and legislation.

The dispute was never resolved and the committee has not made a markup since April last year. With Republicans now in the majority, there are no longer any such obstacles. But Risch told us on Monday that he would like to bypass the committee process for the ICC bill:

Noms news: The Senate Commerce Committee is expected to hold a confirmation hearing for the former lawmaker. Sean Duffy’s (R-Wis.) Nomination for Transportation Secretary on Wednesday, Jan. 15, by a senior Senate aide.