GOP leaders move to end Homeland Security shutdown; could face first test vote Thursday

GOP leaders move to end Homeland Security shutdown | FOX 5 AT 6AM

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have outlined a plan to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security and work toward ending the record partial shutdown.

WASHINGTON - The Senate is expected to attempt quick passage Thursday of a measure that would fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, though it remains unclear how soon the House will act to end the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Wednesday announced a two‑step plan to fully fund DHS. The agreement puts the two Republican leaders back on the same page after pursuing separate strategies that left Congress without a solution last week.

READ MORE: Republican leaders in Congress announce plan to end Homeland Security shutdown

What we know:

Under the plan, Republicans would return to the bipartisan Senate framework negotiated with Democrats, which funds most of DHS except U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. GOP leaders would then pursue separate, party‑line legislation to fund those agencies later in a process that could take months.

Neither outcome is guaranteed to work, and the strategy could still face opposition within the Republican ranks, even with President Donald Trump’s support.

"We appreciate and share the President's determination to once and for all bring an end to the Democrat DHS shutdown," Johnson and Thune said.

House Republicans rejected the Senate’s plan last week, insisting on a bill that funded all of DHS for 60 days.

The shutdown reached its 47th day Wednesday. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that "Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction."

READ MORE: TSA pay resumes, but shutdown continues

Johnson and Thune now face the challenge of winning over skeptical GOP lawmakers, including those who want full funding for Trump’s immigration and deportation operations.

"Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., posted on social media. "If that's the vote, I'm a NO."

The Senate meets for an early pro‑forma session Thursday. Senators could attempt to advance the measure they passed last week through a unanimous consent request, allowing it to move forward if no one objects. The House is also scheduled for a pro‑forma session later Thursday morning.

Big picture view:

Meanwhile, the narrower budget package Trump wants prepared for later this year is expected to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the remainder of his term, aiming to shield those agencies from future disputes over immigration enforcement. Trump has said he wants that legislation on his desk by June 1.

"We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won't be able to stop us," Trump stated.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries responded to the GOP announcement by saying, "It's time to pay TSA agents, end the airport chaos and fully fund every part of the Department of Homeland Security that does not relate to Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine."

Most Homeland Security employees have continued reporting to work during the shutdown, but thousands have gone without pay. That led to increased call‑outs among Transportation Security Administration agents, causing long security lines at major airports. Those delays began easing this week as agents received back pay under a Trump executive order.