Pelosi Yields to Pressure, Lets House Pass Senate Border Bill

(Bloomberg) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blinked in her standoff with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, allowing the House to vote on the Senate version of a $4.5 billion border funding bill and abandoning an amendment sought by her progressive members.

The House passed the bill 305 to 102 Thursday, sending it to President Donald Trump to sign into law as members of the chamber leave Washington for next week’s recess.

The turnaround came after moderate Democrats flexed their power within the caucus by joining with House Republicans to urge Pelosi to vote on the bipartisan Senate bill. Some of them threatened to block a procedural vote on changes sought by their Democratic colleagues.

Pelosi ceded to this pressure after she spoke with Vice President Mike Pence Thursday afternoon and he agreed to make administrative changes to how migrant shelters are run. Pence agreed to a 90-day limit for holding children in “influx” facilities and promised to notify Congress within 24 hours after the death of a child in U.S. custody, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

Some progressive Democrats were furious with the reversal, and Pelosi had to rely on House Republicans to pass the Senate’s bill, H.R. 3401.

Wisconsin Representative Mark Pocan, one of the leaders of the Progressive Caucus, likened a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including 23 Democrats, that pressured Pelosi to vote on the Senate bill, to a “Child Abuse Caucus” for caving on demands he said would protect migrant children.

Tom Cole, the top Republican on the Rules Committee, said he hopes Democrats learn the lesson that they need to work in a more bipartisan manner and if they do, then it bodes well for tough negotiations later this year on budget caps, debt ceiling and other priorities.

“It depends on what lessons the Democrats draw out of it,” Cole said in an interview. “When it comes time to actually legislating you are not going to be able to jam the Republican Senate and Republican White House. This is the first recognition of political reality, and it took a national emergency to get us there.”

Although Pelosi said Trump was open to changes when they spoke by phone Wednesday, the White House on Thursday put out a statement blaming Democrats for the delay.

“The administration sent its request for emergency funding eight weeks ago, but there was no action,” the White House said in a statement. “We have already negotiated a broadly supported bipartisan funding bill. It is time for House Democrats to pass the Senate bill and stop delaying funding to deal with this very real humanitarian crisis.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the administrative changes Pence offered were evidence of the White House being “as accommodating as possible.”

‘Battle Cry’

Pelosi defended her decision in a letter to colleagues and blamed the Senate for resisting her request to name a bicameral committee to reconcile the different versions of the border funding bill. She said the House will continue to work on improving conditions for migrants and “ministering to the needs of children and families.”

“In order to get resources to the children fastest, we will reluctantly pass the Senate bill,” Pelosi said. “We will do so with a Battle Cry as to how we go forward to protect children in a way that truly honors their dignity and worth.”

Some of the administrative actions Pence agreed to were similar to the changes progressive Democrats sought in the Senate bill. Earlier Thursday they were pushing provisions meant to increase protections for children and eliminate extra funds for the Defense Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“We should not be funneling more money to a rogue agency,” said Washington Democrat Pramila Jayapal, the other leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “To be clear, I will not support the Senate bill.”

The frustration from moderate Democrats -- many of whom will face tough elections next year -- was evident earlier Thursday. Nearly two dozen moderates threatened to vote against the House amendment on the floor, forcing Pelosi’s hand.

“The fastest way to get this done is to just accept the Senate bill,” Florida Representative Stephanie Murphy said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton, Laurie Asséo

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.