Budget reconciliation would allow conservative lawmakers to bypass Democratic opposition in the U.S. Senate with a simple majority.
Published April 22, 2026
President Donald Trump has called on Republican lawmakers to push through legislation to fund immigration enforcement through a process known as budget reconciliation.
The process would avoid opposition from Democrats, who have refused to approve such spending until immigration practices are reformed.
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President Trump said in a social media post Wednesday that conservatives need to “unite” behind a push for reconciliation to break the current impasse.
“Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senator Lindsey Graham have taken an important first step toward passing another reconciliation bill to fund Border Patrol and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents,” President Trump wrote.
“To accomplish this and keep America safe, Republicans have to come together and come together, and Democrats don’t care.”
A partial government shutdown has affected the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since mid-February, and previous efforts to break the impasse have failed.
DHS oversees multiple agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
But opposition parties are specifically focused on blocking funding to two agencies: ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Democrats have refused to support more spending on these agencies without reforms after federal agents shot and killed Alex Preti and Renee Nicole Good during an immigration raid in Minneapolis in January.
Such reforms would include requirements for immigration officials to clearly identify themselves and avoid racial profiling.
But Republicans rejected those demands. Right-wing parties hold slim majorities in both houses of Congress and are currently trying to use budget reconciliation to sidestep Democratic opposition.
Budget reconciliation is an expedited process in which congressional committees are tasked with crafting legislation to achieve specific spending goals.
These bills can pass the 100-seat Senate with a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes normally required to avoid a filibuster, but must adhere to certain restrictions.
On Tuesday, the Senate voted 52-46 to approve a motion to begin the budget reconciliation process that would pave the way for funding ICE and CBP through budget reconciliation.
Sen. Lindsey Graham called the vote “an important step” in a social media post, adding that the effort aims to “fully fund Border Patrol and ICE for the remainder of President Trump’s term.”
“That’s not my preference,” Senate Republican Leader John Thune said Tuesday. “But that’s the reality.”
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the effort as a “partisan sideshow” that would divert money to immigration enforcement “without doing anything to curb the violent acts of corrupt agencies on the streets.”
Budget reconciliation was used by Republican lawmakers last year to pass Trump’s landmark tax and spending package without Democratic votes.
