Senate Republicans cleared the first hurdle on Thursday as they are struggling to pass legislation to fund President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agencies, narrowly beating back a Democratic effort to permanently block Trump from creating a $1.776 billion settlement fund for payouts to allies who claim they were persecuted by the government.

Senate Republicans will meet Tuesday to discuss next steps after the Justice Department said it would comply with a court order pausing the implementation of a $1.776 billion settlement fund designed to compensate President Donald Trump's political allies.

Republicans are warning the White House that a critical surveillance authority is likely to lapse this week amid bipartisan backlash over President Donald Trump's pick to lead the nation's intelligence community.

The roughly $70 billion bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol was delayed for weeks as Republican senators navigated the various obstacles to passage created by President Donald Trump and the White House.