Senate tees up House vote to end DHS shutdown
The Senate early Friday morning advanced a bill that would fund much of the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to end a partial government shutdown that has disrupted air travel across the United States.
After weeks of Republicans fighting Democrats over calls to eliminate Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding from a potential deal, the bill does exactly that. It would fund all of DHS except ICE and part of Customs and Border Protection, but does not include changes to ICE’s immigration enforcement that Democrats have called for.
It now moves to Parliament for final approval. The vote could take place Friday as lawmakers try to leave Washington for a planned two-week recess.
“I think we’ll pass it. I hope we can get it done today,” said the Chairman of the House Budget Committee. Jodey ArringtonR-Tex., said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday.
“There is a rule that must be waived,” Arrington said. “I think we should do this in emergencies.”
Speaking in the Senate, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) said about the bill: “If Republicans had not blocked this, this could have been achieved weeks ago.”
“Democrats have been steadfast in our opposition that Donald Trump’s rogue and deadly militias should not receive any more funding without serious reforms, and we will continue to fight for those reforms,” Schumer said.
The Senate vote is an encouraging step toward ending the shutdown that has led to missed paychecks for Transportation Security Administration officials and long lines at airports.
Lawmakers tried for much of the week to reach a deal before the recess, but when talks broke down late Thursday, Trump intervened and announced via Truth Social that he would pay TSA agents via executive order.
Trump said, “Since the Democrats have recklessly created a true National Crisis, I am using my powers under the Law to protect our Great Country, as I always will!” he said. “Therefore, I will be signing an Executive Order directing Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay our TSA Agents to address this Emergency and quickly stop Democrat Chaos at Airports.”
The shutdown began in February, weeks after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis as part of a federal immigration crackdown. Democrats have demanded broader changes at ICE and DHS and have refused to fund the department.
Friday’s vote, while far from a kumbaya moment, largely ended that deadlock.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement that Democrats “remain intransigent and unreasonable” in their demands for DHS funding.
“Congressional Democrats have done real damage to the appropriations process by repeatedly forcing a government shutdown and refusing to fund entire agencies,” Collins said. “Their refusal to fund ICE and Border Patrol makes our borders and our country less safe and sets a precedent they may one day regret.”
Republicans have pledged to fund ICE through a second-party legislative package using the Senate “budget reconciliation” procedure they used to pass last year’s tax and spending bill. Republicans’ next measure on ICE funding could also involve other issues, including defense funding and the SAVE America Act, a Trump-backed voter ID and noncitizen voting bill that has appealed to the GOP’s right wing in recent months.
“This bill will focus on ensuring that ICE and other vital functions of homeland security, as well as efforts to increase the U.S. military and voter integrity, are evidence of Democratic resistance,” Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wrote in a post to X on Thursday. he said.
Budget reconciliation is a procedural tool that requires only a simple majority to pass, rather than the 60 votes usually required to overcome the filibuster in the Senate, provided its constituents have some spending or revenue impact.
