Jan 17, 2025 - Politics & Policy
Thune gets his first big win
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune notched his first big win Friday by clearing the filibuster on the Laken Riley Act. It'll almost certainly pass Monday with ease.
Why it matters: It's a specific, popular, bipartisan bill. But it also hands Thune a chance to prove he's serious about promises made during the GOP leadership election.
- Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told Axios: "What we can feel good about is we're having a lot more conversations about what we're doing." Scott ran against Thune for leader.
- Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told Axios that Thune "says what he means and means what he says when he talks about having a more open amendment process." Lee wants a more open process and backed Scott in November.
Zoom in: Thune spent days haggling with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over the bill, which requires ICE to detain immigrants charged with or convicted of theft.
- Thune and Schumer agreed Wednesday to allow two votes on amendments. One passed, which would require ICE to detain immigrants who attack law enforcement.
- Senators will vote Monday on another amendment from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) that would add to the detention list immigrants who commit crimes resulting in death or bodily injury. It's likely to pass.
- Because of the change, the House will have to pass the bill again before it reaches President-elect Trump's desk.
Zoom out: Nearly a quarter of Senate Dems proved they're willing to help break a filibuster for GOP priorities.
- Schumer privately told Democrats they were free to engage with the GOP on the bill, before he publicly opposed it once it was clear that substantive changes weren't happening.
- His defectors included new Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.
- Schumer also lost Georgia's Jon Ossoff, Arizona's Mark Kelly, Michigan's Gary Peters, Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, and New Hampshire's Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen.
