Congress has been unable to advance a deal to fund DHS amid a 48-day shutdown.
President Donald Trump said on April 2 that he will sign an order to pay all employees at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid a shutdown that has lasted 48 days.
He announced the move in a social media post, saying that DHS employees have “suffered far too long” during the funding impasse. Trump blamed Democrats for the shutdown.
He added, “Republicans are UNIFIED, and moving forward on a plan that will reload funding for our FANTASTIC Border Patrol and Immigration Enforcement Officers.”
The move came after Trump last week signed an order to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers to ease delays in security lines at airports across the country. TSA agents started receiving their pay on Monday.
The Senate has again sent a DHS funding proposal to the House, extending a weeks-long standoff. As it stands, the funding lapse will likely continue into next week as Congress considers the Senate’s plan.
The lower House of Congress has possession of a Senate funding proposal it previously rejected that would fund the bulk of DHS agencies, but not immigration enforcement operations.
As of April 2, the funding standoff has reached its 48th day, and both chambers of Congress have met in an attempt to reach an agreement on acceptable terms for funding the agency.
During the short joint session, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) dismissed the House plan to fund the agency in total for 60 days.
Later, the House met, but didn’t take up the bipartisan plan sent to them by the Senate.
“I don’t know the particulars around what the House will do with it,” Thune told reporters. “My assumption is, at some point, hopefully, they’ll move it.”
This comes one day after the Republican leadership and President Donald Trump adopted a plan to fully fund DHS in a two-step process.
This is breaking and will be updated.
