GOP leaders boost two-track approach to funding DHS

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R.S.D. and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday backed a two-track plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security, paving the way for near-term funding for the Transportation Security Administration while continuing debate over the agency’s more controversial immigration enforcement functions.

The announcement marks a return to the bill the Senate passed last week, which would fund all of DHS except part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Democrats have called for changes in immigration enforcement practices before funding these subordinate agencies.

The initial DHS funding for most of the department would be followed by a second measure using a Senate procedure known as budget reconciliation for ICE and CBP, Republican leaders said in a joint statement Wednesday. That process, used only for spending-related measures, allows the Senate to approve it with a simple minority, versus the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster.

“In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives will follow the President’s directive by fully funding the Department of Homeland Security through two parallel pathways: through the appropriations process and the reconciliation process,” Thune and Johnson said in a statement. he said.

Congress is on the first week of a two-week recess and won’t return until April 13. DHS has been shut down since February after federal agents killed US citizens in Minneapolis as part of a crackdown on immigration. Democrats have refused to fund the agency until changes to DHS’s immigration enforcement policies are implemented.

Thune and Johnson’s joint statement came after the Republican Party rebelled and destroyed the Senate plan on Friday.

Instead of voting on the Senate DHS bill that passed early Friday morning, Johnson announced a plan to pass a stopgap spending measure that would fund the entire agency at current levels through May 22. Passed 213-203All three Democrats support all Republicans.

Johnson’s strategy ensured an extension of the shutdown that has disrupted air travel across the country as scores of unpaid TSA agents have become unemployed and resigned, increasing pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal ahead of heavy travel for the Passover and Easter holidays in early April.

Since then, Republicans and Democrats have pointed fingers at each other about extending the shutdown.

“Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement for days and left American families paying the price for that dysfunction,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday. he said. “Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered. We were clear from the beginning: We fund critical security, we protect Americans, and we do not give a blank check to reckless ICE and Border Patrol practices. We stood united, held the line, and refused to let Republican chaos win.”

Congress has taken some cover from President Donald Trump, who announced last week that he would draw money from unspent funds from the 2025 Republican tax and spending package, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, to pay TSA agents. Those agents started getting paid, and lines at airport security appeared to have eased this week.

Trump appeared to favor a two-pronged approach earlier Wednesday. Post on Truth SocialHe called on Congress to use the budget reconciliation process to get the bill to his desk by June 1.

“(W)e will continue to fund our incredible ICE Agents and Border Patrol through a process that bypasses the Senate Filibuster (which must be repealed immediately!) that does not require votes from Radical Left Democrats and works closely with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Leader John Thune,” Trump said. “We will work as quickly and as focused as possible to fund our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats will not stop us.”

A consensus from Republican leaders could signal an end to the partial government shutdown, but budget reconciliation could be a long, difficult process.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R.S.C., said he has begun working on the compromise and will push to meet the necessary requirements. June 1 deadline.

“This bill will focus on ensuring that ICE and other vital functions of homeland security, as well as the U.S. military and efforts to increase voter integrity, are evidence of Democrats’ resistance. I will be working closely with @POTUS and his team as we write this bill,” Graham said. sent to x On March 26.

But Congress will need to do some hard work in deciding which GOP priorities to include in the final package. Lawmakers have introduced a package of proposals that extend well beyond funding for ICE and border patrol, including additional funds for the Iran war and Trump-backed funding for voter identification and non-citizen voting. Adding more could complicate the chances of allowing Senate parliamentarians to approve a measure with a simple majority vote.

“By following this two-pronged approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, ensure that all federal employees are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security over the next three years so that law enforcement activities can continue without restrictions,” Thune and Johnson wrote Wednesday.