Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-La.) speaks to members of the media with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) after the Republican Senate Policy Luncheon at the Washington Capitol on October 7, 2025.
Kevin Dietch | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (D-R.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday endorsed a two-pronged plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security, clearing the way for funding the Transportation Security Administration in the short term while blocking debate over the agency’s more controversial immigration enforcement functions.
The announcement amounts to a reversal of the bill the Senate passed last week that funds all DHS except parts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Democrats are calling for changes to immigration enforcement practices before funding these agencies.
Republican leaders said in a joint statement Wednesday that after DHS initially funds most of the departments, a second measure using a Senate process known as ICE-CBP budget reconciliation will be implemented. The process is only used for spending-related bills, which the Senate can approve with a simple minority, as opposed to the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
“In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House will follow the President’s direction to fully fund the entire Department of Homeland Security on two parallel tracks: the appropriations process and the reconciliation process,” Thune and Johnson said in a statement.
Congress is in the first week of a two-week recess and is not expected to return until April 13. DHS has been closed since February after federal agents killed two Americans during an immigration raid in Minneapolis. Democrats are refusing to defund the agency until changes to DHS immigration enforcement policies are implemented.
Thune and Johnson’s joint statement came after House Republicans revolted on Friday and killed the Senate plan.
Rather than allow a vote on the Senate DHS bill, which advanced early Friday morning, Johnson announced plans to pass a stopgap spending measure that would fund all government agencies at current levels through May 22. The continuing resolution passed 213-203, with three Democrats joining all Republicans in support.
Johnson’s strategy guaranteed an extension of the shutdown that had crippled air travel across the country as unpaid TSA workers took time off or quit their jobs, increasing pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal ahead of mass travel for the Passover and Easter holidays in early April.
Republicans and Democrats have since blamed each other for extending the shutdown.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Wednesday that “republican divisions have derailed days of bipartisan agreement, and American families are left paying the price for the dysfunction.” “Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats have never wavered. We have been clear from the beginning: We will fund critical security, protect the American people, and not issue blank checks to reckless ICE and Border Patrol enforcement. We stood united, held our line, and refused to let Republican chaos win.”
Congress got some protection from President Donald Trump, who announced last week that unspent funds from the 2025 Republican tax and spending package, known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” would be used to pay TSA officers. Those workers have started receiving their paychecks, and airport security lines appear to have eased starting this week.
President Trump appeared to support a two-step approach in a post on Truth Social earlier Wednesday, urging Congress to use the budget reconciliation process to get the bill on the table by June 1.
“[We]will work closely with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to fund our amazing ICE and Border Patrol agents through a process that does not require votes from radical left Democrats and avoids the Senate filibuster (which should be abolished immediately!),” Trump wrote. “We will work as quickly and intensively as possible to refund Border Patrol and ICE agents, and radical left Democrats will not be able to stop us.”
The agreement between Republican leaders could mark the end of the partial government shutdown, but reconciling the budget could be a long and difficult process.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R.S.C.) said he has already begun work on reconciliation and will work to meet the June 1 deadline.
“This bill focuses on ensuring ICE and other critical functions of homeland security, and efforts to strengthen the integrity of the U.S. military and voters are evidence of Democratic resistance. I will work closely with @POTUS and his team in writing this bill,” Graham posted on X on March 26.
But Congress will have the difficult task of deciding which Republican priorities will be included in the final package. Lawmakers have introduced a slew of proposals that go far beyond funding ICE and border security, including additional funding for the Iran war and a pro-Trump voter identification and non-referendum bill. More additions could complicate the chances of senators approving the bill with a simple majority.
“Following this two-pronged approach, a Republican Congress will fully reopen the department, ensure all federal employees are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years, ensuring these law enforcement operations can continue unchecked,” Thune and Johnson wrote Wednesday.
