GOP races to fund immigration enforcement. And, U.S. indicts former Cuban president

Republicans in Congress are moving to approve $72 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol through the rest of President Trump’s term. The GOP is using budget reconciliation to bypass Democrats who oppose additional agency funding without reforms limiting officers’ tactics. Trump is dissatisfied because the package does not include funding for a White House ballroom. Several Republicans, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, said they would oppose the budget if it included ballroom funding, and Cassidy recently lost his primary after Trump backed another candidate. Cassidy remains a voting member until January and has opposed ballroom funding while casting a crucial vote to advance an Iran war powers resolution. Sen. Lisa Murkowski warned Trump may need Congress to advance his agenda and that attacks on incumbents could hurt the party in November. House Republicans and Democrats also passed a bill aimed at housing affordability by encouraging homebuilding and restricting corporate landlords from buying more than 350 houses. Trump said a decision on another Iran strike could take several days but did not provide a timeline.

"Republicans in Congress are racing to approve $72 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol through the rest of President Trump's term. The GOP is using a tool known as budget reconciliation to bypass Democrats who oppose more agency funding without reforms that limit officers' tactics. Trump is unhappy with the package because it doesn't include funding for the White House ballroom."

"Several Republicans, including Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, said they would oppose the budget if it included ballroom funding. Cassidy just lost his primary after the president backed another candidate. The senator remains a voting member of Congress until January. Congressmembers like Cassidy have the opportunity to disrupt the status quo on their way out of their positions, NPR's Sam Gringlas tells Up First."

"So far, Cassidy has opposed the ballroom funding and cast the crucial vote to advance the Iran war powers resolution, despite having opposed it in the past. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a Republican known for frequently breaking with Trump, pointed out that the president may have forgotten that he needs Congress to advance his agenda. She added that Trump's attacks on incumbent Republicans could backfire and harm the party's chances in November."

"House Republicans and Democrats voted yesterday to pass a bill to tackle the nation's housing affordability crisis. The legislation aims to encourage homebuilding and to ban corporate landlords from buying more than 350 houses. Trump told reporters yesterday that it might take several days to decide whether to launch another strike on Iran, but he didn't commit to a specific timeline."

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