WASHINGTON — The record-breaking 46-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security could end soon.
House Republicans appear to have caved and backed the Senate plan to fund all of DHS except parts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as US Customs and Border Protection.
“We are going forward to fund our incredible ICE Agents and Border Patrol through a process that doesn’t need Radical Left Democrat votes, and bypasses the Senate Filibuster (which should be repealed, IMMEDIATELY!),” President Trump announced on Truth Social.
“I am asking that the Bill be on my desk NO LATER than June 1st,” he said, referring to a reconciliation bill to fund ICE and CBP.
Last Friday, during the wee Friday morning hours, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-SD) plan was to then fund ICE and CBP via the reconciliation process, which enables them to bypass the 60-vote filibuster Democrats have been using to block that funding.
House Republicans promptly rejected that proposal, and instead, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) championed a 60-day stopgap measure to fully fund all of DHS while negotiations over ICE play out.
But on Wednesday, Thune and Johnson released a joint statement backing the two-track approach that cleared the Senate, after Trump endorsed that strategy earlier in the day.
“In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House will be following through on the President’s directive by fully funding the entire Department of Homeland Security on two parallel tracks: through the appropriations process and through the reconciliation process,” Johnson and Thune said.
“Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited.”
It’s unclear if the House, which is on recess, will gavel back into session early to get DHS funded. The deadlock became the longest government shutdown in US history this week, surpassing the record-breaking 43-day one that took place last year.
As a result of the funding lapse, airports across the country devolved into mayhem, with wait lines exceeding four hours in some cases, as over 500 unpaid Transportation Security Administration workers quit their jobs and called out sick due to frustrations. TSA workers have gone about half of the fiscal year without paychecks.
Before Wednesday’s breakthrough, Trump told The Post he was weighing whether to force Congress to return for a rare special session.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has already begun initiating the reconciliation process, which is notoriously cumbersome.
House Republicans had panned the Senate’s bill to end the DHS shutdown, demanding that ICE and CBP funding be included. Johnson steered clear of criticizing Thune for it and instead trained his ire on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
DHS has been partially shut down since Feb. 14 due to the impasse. Democrats had stymied funding for DHS, particularly ICE and CBP, via the filibuster, demanding sweeping reforms to immigration enforcement policy.
They demanded that ICE officers be barred from wearing masks, that tighter warrant requirements be imposed, and that restrictions on enforcement operations be imposed in sensitive locations.
Republicans rejected those demands, but they agreed to others, such as the deployment of body cameras. Additionally, Trump fired former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and wound down Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, which triggered the Democratic funding blockade.
“Democrats will once again demonstrate to the American people their support for open borders and keeping criminal illegal immigrants in America,” Johnson and Thune jointly chided.
Last Friday, Trump took funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the marquee legislation Republicans passed through reconciliation last year, to pay TSA workers and ease security lines at airports.
Checks went out on Monday to TSA workers. Trump explained that he plans to use a similar approach to ensure that ICE and CBP get paid during the wait for the next reconciliation bill.
“In the meantime, we will continue to use funding from THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, which is giving Record Tax Rebates to Citizens all over the Country, to ensure that ICE and Border Patrol Agents are paid ON TIME, and IN FULL, as we have been doing for them throughout the Democrat Shutdown,” he said.
