What to Know in Washington: GOP Pushes to Block Migrant Parole

Republican senators are trying to curtail how the Biden administration uses immigration “parole” to release border-crossers into the country, while sidestepping debate over parole granted to Ukrainians, Venezuelans, and other vulnerable communities, two key negotiators said.

Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) described the scope of the latest bipartisan border talks this week, saying their goal is to reduce migrant releases, not crack down on separate country-specific programs the administration has launched.

“It’s people at the border who are being paroled because we simply don’t have the resources,” Tillis said yesterday.

John Moore/Getty Images

Venezuelan asylum-seeker Argeiris Ramos, 22, waits behind razor wire after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on Sept. 29, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas, after traveling overland with her son Liam Samuel and her cousin Argeiris. Border Patrol agents cut a razor-wire opening for them to proceed.

The clarification may put to rest concerns from immigrants’ rights groups that negotiators were seeking to wipe out programs that have offered refuge to Ukrainians and Afghans fleeing war and violence in their countries, plus Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans with US-based sponsors. However, curtailing the use of parole at the border would still represent a dramatic shift in operations that would put more migrants in immigration detention facilities.

Tillis and other top negotiators say the parole debate has become a sticking point for Democrats. The talks have also focused on tightening access to asylum by raising an initial screening standard and eliminating eligibility for migrants who failed to seek protections in safe countries along the way.

Senators are trying to strike a deal swiftly after Republicans said they’d block funds for Ukraine and other national security spending without measures to slash unauthorized crossings at the US-Mexico border. Reaching a deal on immigration questions that have vexed Congress for decades is an uphill battle, and any agreement still faces uncertain reception in the House. Read more from Ellen M. Gilmer.

BIDEN’S AGENDA

• The president has no public events.

CONGRESS’ SCHEDULE

• The House convenes at 9 a.m. and may consider a vote on expelling Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) and a bill to block a rule requiring lenders to collect and report demographic data on small business loan applicants.
• Senators are out until Monday.
• For the full detailed agenda read BGOV’s Congress Tracker.

Also Happening on the Hill

THE CDC has the chance to regain the public’s trust this flu season, new director Mandy Cohen told House lawmakers amid GOP accusations that the agency repeatedly failed the American public during the pandemic. Read more.

THE FAA’S authority would be extended until March 8 under a short-term extension legislation introduced by House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) as a long-term measure languishes in the Senate. Read more.

• Meanwhile, lawmakers warned at a House hearing yesterday that the months-long reauthorization hold-up could delay key safety updates amid a slate of more serious near misses by planes. Read more.

FCC CHAIR JESSICA ROSENWORCEL clashed with Republicans yesterday during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing over the agency’s recent push to fulfill Democratic-led priorities, including restoring net neutrality and preventing digital discrimination. Read more.

ELECTRIC UTILITIES have raised serious concerns over the viability of advanced nuclear projects due to this month’s collapse of NuScale Power’s small modular reactor project, cost overruns, and fuel questions, nuclear experts and lawmakers said yesterday. Read more.

People, Power, and Politics

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

People watch a debate between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

GOVS. RON DESANTIS and GAVIN NEWSOM sparred over taxes, border security, and energy last night, in a debate that unfolded as a sideshow to the 2024 presidential race — and perhaps a glimpse of the next one.

• Much of the debate devolved into a shouting match with the pair yelling over one another or quibbling over facts, leading moderator Sean to gently chastise the Florida and California governors. Read more.

DONALD TRUMP will skip next week’s Republican presidential debate to instead attend a fundraiser for his campaign in Hallandale Beach, Fla., a person familiar with the planning said. Read more.

LOBBYISTS are back to schmoozing with lawmakers and staff over festive-themed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, as holiday parties bounce back after years of pandemic-era caution. Invitations and RSVPs are rolling in at a pace not seen since 2019, say lobbyists and the lawyers they rely on to make sure the menus and merrymaking comply with ethics rules. Read more.

Defense and Foreign Affairs

ISRAEL and HAMAS resumed their war in the Gaza Strip this morning after a week-long truce ended with the two sides failing to agree on the release of more hostages.

• Israel said Hamas didn’t free all the kidnapped women it promised to in the latest group to be released. It added that Hamas violated the truce by firing missiles.
• Hamas accused the Israeli government of refusing to accept any of its hostage-exchange offers last night. Read more.
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he told Israeli leaders they can’t repeat the scale of destruction and displacement inflicted on the northern Gaza Strip as they prepare another military operation—this time into the south—to eradicate Hamas. Read more.

THE WHITE HOUSE has forced a Saudi Aramco venture capital firm to sell its shares in a Silicon Valley AI chip startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, an exit that could have broader implications for the country’s growing investments in US technology. Read more.

THE US AND INDIA are both downplaying the significance of allegations that an Indian government agent ordered the killing of a US citizen in New York to avoid spoiling the Biden administration’s effort to deepen ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Read more.

What Else We’re Reading

A TRUMP-ERA RULE that prevented taxpayer-funded programs from providing family planning services and abortion services at the same physical location was wrongfully undone by the Biden administration, the Sixth Circuit ruled yesterday. Read more.

MONTANA’S TIKTOK BAN was blocked by a federal judge in a closely watched challenge to the first statewide measure prohibiting the general public from using the wildly popular app. Read more.

• Opponents of teen social media restrictions enacted in various state legislatures this year said they’re watching for copycat proposals in 2024, even as such measures have encountered legal setbacks. Read more.

META’S LAWSUIT targeting the FTC is also the latest to challenge a federal agency’s enforcement actions by questioning the constitutionality of its structure. Read more.

SACKLER FAMILY MEMBERS who profited from the sale of OxyContin may inadvertently upend the way almost every big settlement is carried out in bankruptcy court. The Supreme Court on Monday will consider the Biden administration’s bid to scuttle a $6 billion accord between bankrupt drugmaker Purdue Pharma and its billionaire owners. Read more.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kayla Sharpe at ksharpe@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeannie Baumann at jbaumann@bloombergindustry.com; Brandon Lee at blee@bgov.com