Republicans plan GOP-only path to fund Homeland Security shut down

Summary

Republicans in Congress are pressing ahead with a go-it-alone strategy to end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, choosing a partisan approach after months of negotiations failed to produce a compromise. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the plan is to move Homeland Security funding “the hard way” by focusing on the immigration enforcement agencies — Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — while Democrats demand limits on how those agencies carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement.

Thune said Republicans plan to bypass Democrats rather than accept what he characterized as restraints sought by the other party. Democrats have argued that any funding bill should include requirements that place additional limits on federal immigration authorities, including better identification for officers and increased use of judicial warrants.

After bipartisan talks stalled, Thune said Republicans were preparing a partisan bill and would try to pass it under budget reconciliation, a process that requires only a simple majority vote in the Senate. With the Senate at 53-47, the maneuver would allow Republicans to advance the measure without support from Democrats, Thune said.

Thune’s goal is to speed action and reopen the department quickly with a narrow bill. Under the plan he described, the bill would include money for ICE and CBP, while leaving other contested items for later consideration. But the strategy could run into resistance from within the GOP conference: Thune acknowledged that Senate process could become difficult if Republican members push to add additional, unrelated priorities.

During a lunch meeting about the bill Tuesday, GOP Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota said Republicans were looking for “the narrow vision,” adding that “do people have other ideas? Of course.” The comments underscored that even within Republican ranks, the content and scope of the reconciliation package may not stay limited to immigration enforcement funding.

Republicans have tied their approach to White House and conference discussions, including a meeting at the White House on Friday involving Thune and GOP leaders with President Donald Trump. In the meeting, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham discussed the strategy, and Barrasso later posted that Trump set a June 1 deadline to get to Trump’s desk a focused reconciliation bill funding ICE and Border Patrol. Trump also posted on social media that “we are moving FAST and FOCUSED in keeping our Border SECURE!”

Democrats said they oppose the effort to fund immigration enforcement without changes. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, “Americans want ICE and Border Patrol reined in,” signaling that the party will continue trying to attach restraints and reforms as a condition for funding.

The DHS shutdown has lasted since mid-February, according to the timeline described by congressional leaders and lawmakers involved in the dispute. After federal agents shot two protesters in Minneapolis in January, Trump agreed to a Democratic request to split the Homeland Security bill from a larger spending measure. Democrats and Republicans later failed to agree on changes to the president’s immigration enforcement tactics, and DHS funding lapsed.

In March, the Senate passed legislation by voice vote that would separate out ICE and Customs and Border Protection and fund the rest of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration. House Republicans declined to vote for that approach, saying they would not support a bill that did not include funding for immigration enforcement agencies.

When Congress recessed for two weeks, leaders announced a “two-track approach” that would combine a Senate bill clearing most of DHS funding through regular order with a party-line measure to pass ICE and CBP funding separately. After lawmakers returned to Washington, Thune said Republicans would try to fund the agencies for three years, aiming to circumvent annual spending fights and prevent another shutdown during Trump’s term.

Thune said the funding effort would last “not only today but well into the future,” while Democrats continued to press for changes. Republicans’ push comes as other policy priorities remain in view, including potential requests tied to foreign policy and other legislative goals, making it unclear how smoothly the narrow reconciliation plan can survive internal GOP negotiation and House action.