Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) speaks at a rally against the SAVE America Act in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2026.
Nathan Posner | Anadolu | Getty Images
The Senate advanced a bill early Friday that would fund much of the Department of Homeland Security to end the partial government shutdown that has disrupted air travel across the United States.
After weeks of fighting with Democrats who wanted Republicans to remove funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement from a potential deal, this bill would do just that. This would provide funding to all of DHS except for parts of ICE and Customs and Border Protection, but it does not include changes to ICE’s immigration enforcement practices that Democrats had called for.
It now moves to the House of Commons for final approval. A vote could take place as early as Friday as lawmakers aim to leave Washington for a scheduled recess.
“This could have been accomplished weeks ago if Republicans hadn’t gotten in the way,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said on the Senate floor Friday. “Democrats remain steadfast in our opposition to further funding Donald Trump’s rogue and violent militia groups without serious reform, and we will continue to fight for reform.”
The Senate vote is an encouraging step toward ending a shutdown that has left Transportation Security Administration workers unpaid and long lines at airports. The agreement comes just as lawmakers leave town for a two-week recess scheduled to begin this weekend.
Lawmakers spent much of the week trying to reach an agreement before adjourning, but when negotiations broke down late Thursday, President Trump stepped in and announced via Truth Social that he would pay TSA workers through an executive order.
“Democrats have recklessly created a true national crisis, and I will, as I always will, use my powers under the law to protect our great country!” Trump tweeted. “Therefore, I will sign an order directing Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA officers to address this emergency and quickly stop the Democratic disruption at our airports.”
The government shutdown began in February, weeks after federal agents shot and killed two Americans in Minneapolis as part of a federal immigration crackdown. Democrats called for broader changes to ICE and DHS and rejected funding for the departments.
Friday’s vote, while far from a Kumbaya moment, largely ended the impasse.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said in a statement that Democrats “continue to be aggressive and unreasonable” in their demands for DHS funding.
“Democrats in Congress have done significant damage to the spending process by repeatedly forcing government shutdowns and denying funding to entire government agencies,” Collins said. “By denying funding to ICE and Border Patrol, they have undermined the security of our border and our nation and set a precedent they will one day come to regret.”
Republicans have vowed to restore funding to ICE through a second-party legislative package that uses the Senate’s “budget reconciliation” process used to pass last year’s tax and spending bill. Republicans’ next steps with ICE funding could also include a package of other issues, including defense funding and the Trump-supported voter ID and non-referendum voting bill, the SAVE America Act, which has captivated the right wing of the Republican Party in recent months.
“This bill is evidence of Democratic resistance as it focuses on securing ICE and other critical homeland security functions, securing our military, and increasing voter integrity,” Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R.S.C.) said in a post on X on Thursday.
Budget reconciliation is a procedural tool that requires only a simple majority to pass, as opposed to the 60 votes typically needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, only if its components have any impact on spending or revenue.
