House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced Wednesday a two-track plan to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and end what has become a record partial government shutdown, which has dragged on for more than six weeks.
In a joint statement, the Republican leaders said that “in the coming days,” Congress would move to reopen the department, ensure all federal workers are paid, and lock in funding for immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years. “In following this two-track approach, the 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,” Johnson and Thune said.
According to The Washington Post, the plan calls for funding most of DHS through a bipartisan deal with Senate Democrats — excluding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol. Those two agencies would then be funded separately through a party-line budget reconciliation bill, which only requires a simple-majority vote and cannot be blocked by a Senate filibuster.
The path forward began to take shape after Thune spoke directly with President Donald Trump on Monday (March 30) to find a way out of the standoff. Sources told The Hill that Trump is expected to back the Senate-passed bill — which funds the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) — as the quickest way to end the shutdown and begin work on a separate reconciliation package for ICE and Border Patrol.
On Wednesday, President Trump weighed in on social media, signaling support for the emerging strategy. “We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won’t be able to stop us,” the president wrote.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer pushed back on the announcement, saying “Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction.”
The Senate could move on a new funding bill as soon as Thursday (April 2), though it remains unclear how quickly the House could act, particularly with most members still away for recess. Johnson has not yet confirmed whether he would call the House back before the recess ends in mid-April.
The budget reconciliation package being prepared is expected to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the remainder of President Trump’s term, removing those agencies from future Democratic budget fights. However, neither outcome is guaranteed, and the plan could still face resistance from both conservative House Republicans and Senate Democrats.
Recent Comments