WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced Wednesday a plan to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security, moving past a split between the two Republican leaders that resulted in Congress leaving Washington last week without a fix to a record-setting partial government shutdown.
They said in a joint statement that “in the coming days” Republicans in Congress will return to a Senate plan to fund most of the department through an agreement with Democratic senators, with the exception of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. Republicans would then try later to fund those agencies through party-line budgeting legislation.
Neither outcome is guaranteed, and the strategy could potentially still face opposition from the GOP’s own ranks.
“We appreciate and share the President’s determination to once and for all bring an end to the Democrat DHS shutdown,” said Johnson, R-La., and Thune, R-S.D.
The plan represents a do-over of what senators had in mind when, early Friday, they passed a bipartisan funding agreement through unanimous consent. The Senate could approve similar legislation as soon as Thursday morning through unanimous consent, but even if that happens, it's unclear how quickly the bill could move through the House. It will likely take several months for Republicans to also pass budgeting legislation to fund ICE and border patrol.
House Republicans refused to go along with the Senate plan last week, instead changing the bill to fund all of DHS for 60 days.
As a result, the shutdown continued as lawmakers left for their home states and congressional districts for a two-week recess. The DHS shutdown reached its 47th day on Wednesday.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, in a statement, said "Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction."
The announcement from the GOP leaders showed that for now, Thune and Johnson are on the same page. Their working relationship experienced a rupture late last week when Johnson — at the urging of many House Republicans — rejected Thune’s plan.
The top Republicans are hopeful the path ahead will win over skeptical GOP colleagues, especially because President Donald Trump has given his support for the emerging strategy. But the most conservative lawmakers are likely to demand full funding for all of Trump’s immigration and deportation operations.
It is uncertain whether Johnson could find enough support from the House to recall lawmakers back to Washington before their spring recess ends in mid-April.
Meanwhile, the narrow budget package being prepared is expected to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the remainder of Trump’s term, as a away to try to ensure those agencies are no longer at risk from Democrats objecting to the president’s immigration enforcement agenda.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump weighed in on the shutdown, using a social media post to seemingly call on Republicans to fund the immigration portions of DHS through a bill that would not require Democratic support. He said he wanted the legislation on his desk by June 1.
“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,” Trump said.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries reacted to the announcement by saying in a statement, “It’s time to pay TSA agents, end the airport chaos and fully fund every part of the Department of Homeland Security that does not relate to Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine.”
