Congress got one step closer this week to funding immigration enforcement for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term, while House lawmakers dealt with more ethics fallout and wrangled behind closed doors over a key surveillance authority.

But the path forward once again depends on whether Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can whip votes within his own party.

Skinny reconciliation

The Senate in the wee hours Thursday morning narrowly adopted a GOP-written budget resolution, 50-48, marking the first move toward providing roughly $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.

“Republicans are going to deliver for you,” said Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., as the GOP looks to sidestep a funding standoff with Democrats over guardrails at the agencies by relying on the reconciliation process.  

Once the budget resolution is adopted in both chambers, more detailed work can begin. While Johnson is readying it for the floor next week, some House Republicans are trying to tap the brakes. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, for one, said he wants to see a resolution with a broader scope. 

Those holdouts could be a headache for Johnson, who won’t be able to rely on any Democratic votes and is working with a slim GOP majority. 

FISA feud

Behind the scenes, Johnson also tried to straighten out support for extending section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The controversial spy authority is facing an April 30 deadline, as some Republicans demand privacy safeguards.

While new bill text released by GOP leaders Thursday seems to fall short of some of the privacy hawks’ demands, the Rules Committee is scheduled Monday to prep it for floor consideration.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Wednesday that the House had until the end of this work week to “come together behind something” and if not, the Senate is ready to lead and “prepared to move here.”

As a back-up plan, Thune on Thursday filed cloture on a three-year clean extension.

House drama

House Republicans’ razor-thin margin did get a little more wiggle room this week.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., resigned Tuesday before the House Ethics Committee was set to consider what punishment she should face for numerous ethics violations related to campaign funds. 

Her announcement capped a wave of recent departures, after Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, resigned over unrelated allegations. 

The ethics uproar may not be over, as Reps. Cory Mills, R-Fla., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C., continue an online feud over alleged misdeeds. Mace has said she intends to call up a resolution soon aimed at expelling Mills.

On Wednesday, House leadership announced Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., had died. The 12-term congressman was 80. 

House Democrats now have 212 members, giving Republicans a bit more leeway on party-line bills.

Betting on Banking 

Thune rubber-stamped a plan to try to help get Kevin Warsh confirmed as Federal Reserve chairman, promising “accountability.” 

Thune said Wednesday the Senate Banking Committee will probe a Federal Reserve headquarters construction project that has run over budget, while the Department of Justice conducts its own investigation. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has described the DOJ actions as a pressure campaign on the Fed’s current chairman, Jerome Powell.

During a Tuesday hearing, Tillis reiterated that he would not vote to advance Warsh’s nomination as long as the DOJ probe continues, even though he sees Warsh as qualified. 

Tillis, who’s retiring, told CBS News on Wednesday, “I have a little over 260 days left in the U.S. Senate. And if that investigation is still going on, in the 260th day, then I’m pretty certain Kevin Warsh has not been confirmed.”

AUMF angst

As Republicans in Congress face questions about how much longer they will support Trump’s war in Iran, senators once again defeated a war powers resolution that sought to rein in the military operation. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the only Republican to vote in favor.

The war is approaching the 60-day mark, meaning the president is supposed to seek congressional authorization to proceed under the 1973 War Powers Resolution law.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said, “Well, let’s hope that this will be over by that point,” when asked Wednesday if Congress needed to pursue an authorization for the use of military force.

If not, “The administration has options under the statute to come back to ask for an extension under certain terms,” he said. “But the best thing would be that we would be at an end to it. And I think the White House is working toward that.” 

Trump said Thursday on social media that he had ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” Iranian boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Senate turns away from SAVE

Following five weeks of lackluster “extended debate” on their marquee election overhaul bill, Senate Republican leadership has now quietly set aside what’s known as the SAVE America Act. 

It’s unclear what the future looks like for the legislation, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID at the polls. Republicans haven’t garnered the Democratic support they would need for passage under the chamber’s 60-vote threshold. Nor has the floor time changed the minds of most Senate Republicans when it comes to blowing up the chamber’s rules on the filibuster to lower that threshold to 51.

Thune said this week they’d “pivot off” the bill to focus reconciliation along with other “pressing issues” like FISA.

That decision is fueling another friction point with some House Republicans, who had vowed to stall other legislation until SAVE passes. 

David Lerman, Aidan Quigley, Aris Folley and Mark Schoeff Jr. contributed to this report.