Dem
51
GOP
49
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is famous for blocking proposed laws she doesn't like. But now, in a reverse, she is working on a bill with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) that actually has a (small) chance of passing. The bill would allow immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children to become legal and get a pathway to citizenship. Democrats want this. In return, border security funding would get a huge boost of $25-40 billion. Republicans want this. The bill also includes an extension of a Trump-era policy that allows the summary expulsion of migrants caught at the border. Republicans like that a lot. In the past, it was common for bills that gave each party something it wanted to pass, although that is increasingly rare. Sinema and Tillis are hoping this one will be the exception to current practice.
Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin (D-IL) has said that he supports the framework drawn up by Sinema and Tillis. The authors hope it can come up during the lame-duck session of Congress because even if it passes the Senate, it has a greater chance of passing the current House than the next House. The respective party leaders, Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), have not commented on the bill.
Actually getting a major bill enacted into law would be a massive feather in Sinema's cap. If she is primaried in 2024, which seems likely, she could then argue that she can work with Republicans and get things done, something that has eluded most other Democrats. Of course, if the bill fails, her (primary) opponents are going to argue that trying for bipartisanship is a waste of time and that Democrats simply need to get large enough majorities that they can abolish the filibuster and pass laws over Republican objections. (V)