Republicans on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Democrats to start a Senate debate on a $10 billion COVID-19 compromise, urging a bipartisan package to tangle with an election-year showdown over immigration restrictions A politically disturbing struggle.

Day 2 of Democratic and Republican negotiators come to an agreement Democrats’ push to push the measure over procedural hurdles failed 52-47 in funding treatments, vaccines and testing. All 50 Republicans opposed the move, leaving Democrats 13 short of the 60 they needed to win.

Hours earlier, Republicans said they would reject key support for the measure unless Democrats agreed to vote on an amendment that would block President Joe Biden from unwinding the Trump era. restrictions on immigration Entering the U.S. With Biden’s poor polls on handling immigration and Democrats divided on the issue, Republicans see a focus on immigration as a fertile line of attack.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters that “I think there has to be” an amendment that preserves immigration restrictions “to push the bill” to support federal pandemic efforts.

In a 50-50 Senate, the measure would need at least 10 votes to reach the 60 needed for approval. Republicans could retain that support until Democrats allow a vote on the immigration amendment.

Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) want Congress to approve a pandemic bill two weeks before lawmakers adjourn in days. Tuesday’s vote suggested that could be difficult.

“This could be a devastating vote for every American worried about the possibility of a new variant in a few months,” Schumer said after the vote.

The new omicron variant, BA.2, is expected to trigger a new increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States.Approximately 980,000 Americans and more than 6 million people worldwide have die of disease.

$10 billion pandemic package falls well short of Biden’s $22.5 billion originally soughtIt’s also short of $5 billion as Biden wants to fight the pandemic overseas because the two sides can’t agree on budget savings as Republicans demand.

At least half of the bill would fund research and production of treatments for COVID-19. Funds will also be used to buy vaccines and tests and to research new variants.

The measure was paid for by withdrawing unspent pandemic funding earlier made to protect aviation manufacturing jobs, closed entertainment venues and other programs.

Government officials say the government has run out of money to provide COVID-19 testing and treatment for the uninsured, as well as underfunded booster immunizations, free monoclonal antibody treatments and caring for those with weakened immune systems.

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, President Donald Trump imposed immigration restrictions, allowing authorities to immediately deport asylum seekers and immigrants for public health reasons.The ban, which expires on May 23, will spark a surge in the number of people trying to cross the Mexican border into the U.S.

That leaves Democrats facing a chaotic choice ahead of the fall election, as they are expected to struggle to retain their House and Senate majorities.

Many of the party’s lawmakers and their liberal supporters want the U.S. to open its doors to more immigrants. But in the November re-election campaign, moderates and some Democrats are concerned about lifting restrictions and alienating centrist voters.

Sen. Kathryn Cortez Masto (D-Nevada), who faces re-election this fall, declined to say whether she would support keeping the Trump-era ban, but said more needs to be done.

“I need a plan, we need a plan,” she said in a brief interview. “There’s going to be a surge at the border. There should be a plan, I’ve been calling for it.”

Shortly before Tuesday’s vote, Schumer showed no interest in subjecting his party to a divisive immigration vote.

“This is a bipartisan deal that delivers a lot of important benefits for the American people. Vaccines, tests, treatments,” he said. “It shouldn’t be held hostage over trivial issues.”

Jeff Zients, head of the White House COVID-19 task force, echoed the sentiment.

“It shouldn’t be included in any funding bill,” he said of immigration. “That decision should be made by the CDC. That’s where it was and where it belongs.”

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which initiated the initiative two years ago, said earlier this month that it would lift the ban next month. Those restrictions, known as Section 42, are harder to justify as pandemic restrictions ease.

Trump administration officials see containment measures as a way to stop the further spread of COVID-19 in the United States. Democrats see Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric as a hallmark of his presidency and an excuse to keep immigrants from entering the United States.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) said she supports ending Trump’s restrictions and questioned the GOP’s motives for seeking to restore them.

“I find it ironic that people who don’t want to be tasked with vaccinations, who don’t want to wear masks in classrooms, are suddenly very interested in protecting the public,” she said.

But Rep. Benny Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he would support the Senate’s COVID-19 aid bill if it included Republican efforts to preserve Trump’s immigration restrictions.

“Why don’t I?” he said in a brief interview.