Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on April 22, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Heather Deal | Getty Images
Republicans are seeking to jump-start a process on the Senate floor to pass a $72 billion budget that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Democrats rejected funding for both DHS agencies after the deaths of two civilians at the hands of federal agents during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January, triggering a months-long partial government shutdown.
As Republicans sought to replenish funding for ICE and CBP through the budget reconciliation process, Congress passed and President Trump signed a bill in April funding the remaining agencies, effectively ending the partial shutdown.
Under budget reconciliation, the Senate only has a 50-vote threshold for passing legislation, but it is allowed to use it only for spending-related measures.
Voting on the package is scheduled to begin late Thursday, and the “vote-a-rama” process, a step that uses budget reconciliation, allows Democrats to introduce amendments to the budget framework and force Republican lawmakers into politically inconvenient votes.
For example, this week’s internal divisions emerged within the Republican Party over whether to spend taxpayer money on his proposed security upgrades related to the White House banquet hall. Senators ruled last week that the $1 billion Secret Service provision for the project could not be included in the package, but Senate Republicans initially said they would rework the language and try again.
Trump was furious with the lawmaker, a bipartisan lawmaker who advises on Senate procedure, and called for her removal in a post on Truth Social. But by Wednesday, anger over the socialite funding was growing among party members, and Politico reported that it was likely to be removed from the reconciliation bill, in a blow to President Trump.
Tensions also rose this week over a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund announced as part of President Trump’s settlement with the Internal Revenue Service. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was sent to the Hill Thursday to meet with senators involved in the fund.
“What people are worried about is paying their mortgage, paying their rent, buying groceries, paying their gas bills, not raising a $1.8 billion fund that the president and his allies can pay to whomever they want, without precedent or accountability,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who lost his re-election bid after President Trump endorsed one of his opponents in last weekend’s Republican primary, posted on X on Wednesday.
“This is adding to the national debt. If a settlement is needed, the administration should bring it to Congress and decide,” Cassidy said.
Republicans are also pressed for time. Both chambers are scheduled to go into recess for a week starting Friday, and President Trump has set himself a June 1 deadline for the package to reach his desk. As of Thursday morning, the final text of the bill, which was scheduled to be considered in the Senate that day, had not yet been released. If adopted by the Senate, the package would go to the House for final approval.
And while Democrats, who are in the minority in both chambers, will have little power to block any policies Republicans ultimately agree to, they will lose any opportunity to criticize their Republican colleagues over rising costs and allegations of corruption in the Trump administration.
“Democrats are cracking down on government corruption. Republicans are actively helping Trump steal from the American people to fund his banquet halls and billion-dollar MAGA slush fund,” Schumer said Thursday.
