Senate Approves $4.6 Billion Bill for Border With Fewer Restrictions (Published 2019)

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday approved $4.6 billion in emergency humanitarian aid for the southwestern border, rejecting House legislation approved on Tuesday that sought to rein in President Trump’s immigration crackdown by setting much stronger conditions for how the money could be spent.

The action set up a stalemate over the border spending, even as tragic images of the migrant crisis and reports of children and families in squalid and overcrowded detention centers fueled an urgent push to reach an agreement.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California rejected the Senate’s bill even before the vote was taken, setting up a clash over immigration policy just days before Congress leaves Washington for a weeklong July 4 recess. Ms. Pelosi on Wednesday afternoon called Mr. Trump, who has threatened to veto the House bill, to discuss how to reconcile the dueling measures.

“They pass their bill; we respect that,” she said. “We passed our bill; we hope they would respect that. And there are some improvements that we think can be reconciled.”

In a 15-minute telephone call, Mr. Trump appeared to indicate to the speaker that he was willing to consider some changes to the Senate measure, according to a senior Democratic aide who described the conversation on the condition of anonymity.

Ms. Pelosi has found herself in a difficult spot: Many liberal lawmakers in her ranks agreed to support the House measure on Tuesday only because she added strict new conditions on the money. If those provisions are dropped in a compromise with the Senate and the White House, the resulting measure could pass with Republican votes, but it would badly divide her caucus, where many lawmakers fear the humanitarian aid package only enables Mr. Trump’s harsh immigration agenda.