The House passed a bill Thursday that largely funds the Department of Homeland Security, effectively ending a partial government shutdown that began in February.
Passage of the funding bill comes after House Republicans continued to oppose the plan for more than a month, and the plan passed unanimously in the Senate in late March. The White House had warned that emergency funding for DHS would run out as soon as Friday.
“Speaker Johnson has extended the DHS shutdown for more than a month for absolutely no reason, which is the same bill the Senate passed unanimously five weeks ago,” Senate Appropriations Chairman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement.
The bill would avoid the possibility of further back pay for Transportation Security Administration workers, whose underpaid salaries led to long lines at airports across the country earlier this year.
TSA officers work at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on March 13, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia.
Annabel Gordon AFP | Getty Images
This does not include funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and parts of Customs and Border Protection, two DHS agencies responsible for immigration enforcement. Lawmakers are seeking to fully fund ICE and CBP through a procedural tool known as budget reconciliation, which sets a 50-vote threshold for spending measures in the Senate, compared to the 60 votes typically needed to overcome a legislative filibuster.
The first steps in the budget reconciliation process moved forward in the House late Wednesday. Lawmakers are working to complete a final version by June 1, a self-imposed deadline set by President Donald Trump to pass Republican immigration priorities.
“To finish the job, Republicans in the Senate and House must pass a reconciliation bill that fully funds ICE and Border Patrol for the remainder of President Trump’s term,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R.C.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, wrote on X on Thursday.
Democrats rejected funding for DHS’ immigration enforcement functions after two Americans were killed by federal agents during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January. The impasse has lasted more than 70 days, with Republicans balking at Democratic demands to change the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) initially opposed the Senate version of the bill, which lacked some ICE and CBP funding, but days later announced in a joint statement with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (RS.D.) that the House had found a way forward and would begin work on the bill immediately.
Johnson floated the idea of amending the bill earlier this week under pressure from some House Republicans who opposed the Senate proposal’s exclusion of immigration enforcement funding, which would likely extend the shutdown and require another Senate review.
Finally, on Thursday, under pressure from President Trump and with time running out before Congress’ scheduled one-week recess starting Friday, Johnson took action and sent the bill to Trump’s desk.
