A bipartisan immigration reform bill that would have included protections for Dreamers failed to advance in the Senate Thursday, when it got short of the 60 votes needed, various outlets reported.
The bill from Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) would have offered a path to citizenship for Dreamers in exchange for $25 billion in border security. It did not have the support of president Donald Trump, who threatened to veto it because it did not include measures he sought to severely limit legal immigration.
The Senate voted 54-45 to advance the measure, but did not reach the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster. Senator Kamala Harris from California was one of three Democrats who voted against it.
Another bill from GOP Senators backed by the president also failed to advance, with a vote of 39 in favor and 60 against.
Senators from the bipartisan group said they would try to advance the bill after Congress returns from next week’s recess, but it was unclear if the issue could be resolved before March 5 –the date on which the Trump administration said it would end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Two federal judges have temporarily blocked Trump from ending DACA, but the White House has turned the matter over to the Supreme Court, which could announce this week if it will decide the matter.
