The Department of Homeland Security entered a partial shutdown in mid-February.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announced a long-awaited plan that would fully fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and end the historic partial government shutdown.
In a joint statement sent to The Epoch Times on April 1, the Republican leaders outlined how lawmakers on Capitol Hill plan to move forward with funding DHS after President Donald Trump demanded they send a filibuster-proof bill to his desk by June 1.
“In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House will be following through on the President’s directive by fully funding the entire Department of Homeland Security on two parallel tracks: through the appropriations process and through the reconciliation process,” the joint statement reads.
Republicans believe they can refund DHS, which has been under a partial shutdown since mid-February, by using the regular appropriations process and a separate reconciliation bill that Republicans would likely have to pass on their own later this year.
The statement suggested that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and the Senate Budget Committee had initiated the process of developing a budget resolution that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the next three years.
The dispute over ICE and CBP slowed DHS funding negotiations on Capitol Hill, as Democrats demanded changes to immigration enforcement operations before they would give their approval.
Last week, the House rejected a Senate-passed bill that did not fund ICE and CBP. The House then passed a bill that would have entirely funded DHS for 60 days but it was sent to the Senate after its members started a two-week recess.
Trump said he hoped that Wednesday’s announcement to fund DHS, which oversees agencies such as ICE, CBP, and the Transportation Security Administration, will involve a quick process.
“We are going forward to fund our incredible ICE Agents and Border Patrol through a process that doesn’t need Radical Left Democrat votes, and bypasses the Senate Filibuster (which should be repealed, IMMEDIATELY!), working in close conjunction with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Leader John Thune,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday morning.
“I am asking that the Bill be on my desk NO LATER than June 1st,” he said.
By Jacki Thrapp
