In his floor speech, McConnell said some of the policy restrictions “may be unobjectionable things the Trump administration may be able to help secure for them administratively.” But he appeared to view the cuts to the Pentagon and ICE as a bridge too far. “Some of these new demands would drag this bipartisan bill way back to the left,” McConnell said. “They want to claw back some of this badly needed money for the men and women down there on the front lines.”

Democratic divisions

After a morning caucus meeting to discuss next steps, some House Democrats seemed divided on the wisdom of taking up a bill they know won’t become law.

Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., a senior member of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, urged her leadership to simply take up the Senate-passed bill. “The Senate bill is a good bipartisan bill that passed overwhelmingly in the Senate,” Murphy said. “It is an emergency on the border right now. We need to get money to the border as soon as possible. The House needs to take up the Senate bill and pass it and get money to the border.”

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said he backs the Senate bill, but would vote for the House’s revisions as well as a show of unity.

But there’s a real chance the House’s amendment could be defeated on the floor, a senior Democratic aide close to the moderate wing of the caucus said. Some moderates, especially freshmen considered vulnerable for re-election in 2020, oppose some of the changes the amendment would make.