Trump demands Schumer apology, ramps pressure
- President Donald Trump demanded on April 23 that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer apologize “now” for saying on the Senate floor that “nobody respects” ICE and Border Patrol. - The clash followed a 50-48 Senate vote adopting a budget blueprint to steer roughly $70 billion to immigration enforcement agencies through budget reconciliation. - The fight sits inside a Homeland Security funding standoff that Republicans want settled before June 1. (politico.com)
President Donald Trump demanded on April 23 that Chuck Schumer apologize after Schumer said “nobody respects” Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (justthenews.com) (democrats.senate.gov) Trump wrote on Truth Social that Schumer’s remark was “egregious” and “dangerous” and said he “must immediately apologize to these great patriots.” (washingtontimes.com) (justthenews.com) Schumer made the comment during the Senate’s overnight fight over a Republican budget plan for immigration enforcement. In a press conference on April 22, he said Republicans were putting $140 billion toward “rogue police forces—ICE & Border Patrol” and $0 toward lowering costs. (democrats.senate.gov) By early April 23, Senate Republicans had adopted a budget resolution 50-48 after a six-hour vote-a-rama. The measure opens a path to pass about $70 billion for ICE, Border Patrol and related operations with Republican votes alone. (politico.com) (cbsnews.com) Republicans say Democrats refused to fund border enforcement through regular appropriations. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the plan would fund “law enforcement, drug interdiction, border security, protecting children.” (usnews.com) Democrats say the agencies need limits before getting more money. Reuters reported Schumer and other Democrats demanded guardrails on immigration enforcement agents and their operations as the Department of Homeland Security remained in a partial shutdown that began in mid-February. (usnews.com) The argument over Schumer’s wording quickly turned into a broader Republican message about backing immigration agents. The National Border Patrol Council said on April 23 that it would “defend our members” after Schumer’s comments. (dallasexpress.com) The budget resolution is not the funding bill itself. It gives Senate Republicans a reconciliation track they hope to use to send a narrower immigration package to Trump before the June 1 deadline that Thune has been trying to meet. (politico.com) That leaves the Schumer-Trump clash as both a policy fight and a procedural one: a dispute over ICE and Border Patrol funding, tied to the Senate’s effort to move a border bill without Democratic votes. (politico.com) (cnbc.com)
