The Senate voted early Friday morning to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, partially resolving a budget impasse that has stretched since February. The bill notably excludes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol.
The legislation restores funding for the TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. It now heads to the House of Representatives, which must pass the bill before the weekend. The Senate departed for a two-week Easter recess immediately after the vote.
Democrats had triggered the DHS shutdown in mid-February, demanding sweeping immigration enforcement reforms. None of those changes are included in the bill that passed.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declared the outcome a win for his caucus.
“This long-overdue agreement funds TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA, CISA; strengthens security at the border and at ports of entry; and keeps Americans safe,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “This could’ve been accomplished weeks ago if Republicans hadn’t stood in the way.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pushed back on that framing. “We could be standing here right now, passing a funding bill with a list of reforms if Democrats had made the smallest effort to actually reach an agreement,” Thune said. “But they didn’t. Because as is now clear to everyone, Democrats didn’t actually want a solution. They wanted an issue, politics over policy, self-interest over reform, pandering to their base over actually solving a problem. It’s an appalling commentary on the state of the Democratic Party.”
The bill’s exclusion of ICE drew immediate backlash from conservatives.
“Total Senate GOP capitulation to Chuck Schumer. DHS funded EXCEPT FOR ICE,” posted Jim Pfaff, president of The Conservative Caucus. “All this because Senators want to go on a two week, paid vacation.”
Conservative radio host Mark Levin called it blackmail. “Thune didn’t do anyone any favors with this bill. The battle now turns to the Border Patrol and ICE. That’s the Democrats’ goal. So, they punished the TSA and now they’ll punish Border Patrol and ICE. In the end, the Democrats are blackmailing we, the American people,” he wrote on X.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) called on House Republicans to amend the bill before passing it, attaching a voter ID provision in response to the Senate’s failure to advance Trump’s SAVE America Act.
“WE in the HOUSE should AMEND the Senate Bill, ADD VOTER ID AND FORCE A VOTE IN THE SENATE,” Ogles posted Friday morning.
Any amendment would complicate passage. With the Senate on recess, a changed bill would require senators to return to Washington for another vote.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) blamed Democratic leadership for the entire episode. “Real profiles in courage. They created this mess, couldn’t define victory, refused to take yes for an answer, and now get nothing. Their leadership is a disaster,” Lawler said. “Jeffries shut down the government twice and got nothing for it, twice.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the only Democrat to consistently oppose the shutdown strategy. All other Senate Democrats held together until Friday’s vote.
Thursday night, President Trump had declared an emergency to ensure TSA officers received pay, bypassing the congressional standoff.
“I will not allow the Radical Left Democrats to hold our Country hostage any longer,” Trump posted to Truth Social.
Much of Trump’s border and immigration enforcement agenda was already funded last July through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included the bulk of ICE and Customs and Border Protection funding. The shutdown primarily impacted TSA, the Coast Guard, and FEMA workers.
The House is expected to take up the bill Friday.
