Tester slams lawmakers for voting down border bill amid reports ICE could release thousands of detainees

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., took aim at leading GOP lawmakers in the Senate and House for their role in the defeat of a bipartisan border bill in the Senate last week.

Tester's comments come after the Senate failed to advance a supplemental spending package that included spending on border security as well as aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The legislation was defeated in a 49-50 vote, mostly along party lines, with only Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, James Lankford and Mitt Romney voting in favor of advancing the bill on the Republican side.

The bill also contained $6 billion in additional funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, money that would have been used to help the agency close its $700 million budget shortfall. Instead, a Washington Post report Wednesday indicated that the agency has now floated the idea of slashing its detention capacity and releasing roughly 16,000 migrants as a cost-cutting measure.