WASHINGTON: Senate Democrats plan to force a vote in the coming weeks on a resolution to require more transparency from President Donald Trump‘s administration about deportations to El Salvador.
The resolution, which Virginia senator Tim Kaine expects to introduce on Thursday, comes after two votes on Democratic resolutions challenging Trump’s tariffs. It is part of a larger strategy by Democrats to continue using mechanisms under the law to take floor time from majority Republicans and vote on reversing parts of Trump’s agenda.
“These votes are all about curbing executive power,” said Kaine, who was also a lead sponsor on the two tariff bills. “That is a unifying theme.”
The new resolution would force Trump’s Republican administration to report to Congress about what steps it is taking to comply with courts that have determined the US government wrongfully deported immigrants to El Salvador. Democrats have highlighted the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to the Central American country and who a Maryland judge has said should be returned to the US.
Kaine said that Democrats want to put Republicans on record on that case and others while also pressuring the government of El Salvador, which is working with the Trump administration. The resolution would also require the Trump administration to reveal more information about money paid to El Salvador and assess the country’s human rights record. Leaders in El Salvador will have to deal with the United States long past Trump’s tenure, Kaine said, and “we’re going to have a very long memory about this.”
Democrats have been under pressure from base voters to use their limited powers in the minority to fight Trump on all fronts. While the resolution is unlikely to get a vote in the House even if it passes the Senate, Democrats say it is about bringing attention to issues and forcing Republicans to go on record where they are reluctant to speak out publicly against Trump.
“We have limited tools, but this is an effective tool,” said Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen, who is backing the resolution and visited Abrego Garcia in El Salvador two weeks ago.
Democrats have already forced a handful of votes on the Senate floor, including the two tariff votes last month. The Senate in early April passed a resolution that would have have thwarted Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada, but Republicans this week narrowly blocked a similar resolution that would have stalled Trump’s global tariffs announced several weeks ago. Four Republicans voted with Democrats on the first tariff measure, and three Republicans voted with them on the second resolution.
The Democrats are forcing the votes under different statutes that allow so-called “privileged” resolutions – legislation that must be brought up for a vote whether majority leadership wants to or not. The resolution being introduced Thursday is under the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows any senator to force a vote to request information on a country’s human rights practices.
Senate Republicans pulled similar maneuvers during President Joe Biden‘s administration under the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to force votes on rescinding regulations.
It is unclear if any Republicans would vote with Democrats on the El Salvador resolution. Most Republicans have enthusiastically embraced Trump’s border policies, even if some are wary of the administration’s defiance of court orders and as some Americans think Trump has gone too far.
While symbolic, Kaine said he hopes the votes on the resolutions will force Republicans to feel pressure – and potentially slow down future actions by Trump. “It’s a way of shining a spotlight on this issue,” Kaine said.
