House sends Trump border aid bill after Pelosi caves to pressure from moderates

The House on Thursday passed a bipartisan Senate bill that would address the crisis at the southern border, dealing a major blow to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and progressives who had pushed for stronger protections for migrant children.

Ninety-five Democrats opposed the measure in a 305-102 vote. The legislation now heads to the White House, where President Trump is expected to sign the $4.6 billion package into law.

{mosads}Pelosi and her leadership team had initially intended to hold a Thursday vote to amend the Senate-passed bill to include language that would implement safety and care standards for law enforcers working with migrants — provisions pursued by liberals that were in the previous House-passed bill.

But moderate Democrats in groups like the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and the Blue Dog Coalition put pressure on Pelosi to take up the Senate bill immediately.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, informed Pelosi he had rallied enough support against the changes backed by progressives, resulting in Pelosi losing significant leverage in her fight for changes to the Senate measure.

The eventual vote on the Senate bill sparked outrage from left-leaning members like Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairman Mark Pocan (D-Wis.). 

“Since when did the Problem Solvers Caucus become the Child Abuse Caucus? Wouldn’t they want to at least fight against contractors who run deplorable facilities? Kids are the only ones who could lose today,” he tweeted.

Progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) argued that Democrats should have fought harder to strike a deal with the Senate that would have provided more Democratic wins.

“The problem right now and the question at hand is Mitch McConnell sent us a bill and we’re putting a big check mark on it instead of even trying to negotiate. … What Mitch McConnell is doing is relying on the time pressure of recess,” she said on CNN.

Top Republicans advocated for the passage of the Senate bill ahead of the vote, with dozens of GOP lawmakers saying on the House floor that it should be passed by unanimous consent.

Seven conservatives — GOP Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Chip Roy (Texas) — all voted against the measure.

Notable defectors on the Democratic side included: Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján (N.M.), Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Katherine Clark (Mass.), Democratic Policy and Communications Committee co-Chair Ted Lieu, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who also voted against the measure, said the crisis at the border requires some assurances that the money is “going to be used the right way.”

“And I think people were very frustrated that those protections were taken out,” he said.

Scott Wong and Mike Lillis contributed.

Updated at 6:50 p.m.