The U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, amid fog on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate passed legislation Thursday that would end the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security, sending the same bill it passed last week to the House, which took no action during a brief session.
However, it appeared that the closure could also be affected by executive action. President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post later that morning that he “will soon be signing an executive order paying ALL the incredible Department of Homeland Security employees.”
He gave no details about when that would happen or where he would get the money from. White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for details.
When asked about the bill passed by the Senate, Speaker Mike Johnson’s office did not immediately respond seeking comment on when the House might approve the bill. However, members are not scheduled to return from the two-week spring break until April 14th.
The House could have cleared the measure for Trump’s signature in a brief session, an hour after the Senate passed the bill, but its leaders chose not to.
These so-called pro forma sessions occur roughly every three days, when one or both chambers of Congress are on recess and the extensive majority of lawmakers are not on Capitol Hill. They usually do not involve any real work and are intended to avoid break dates.
The Senate approved the bill after some procedural comments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and did not hold a recorded vote.
“Deep division and dysfunction”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement after the House voted not to approve the bill that “the deep division and dysfunction among House Republicans is unnecessarily prolonging the DHS shutdown and harming federal workers who are missing another paycheck.”
“The Senate has done its job twice to fund key parts of DHS without funding the lawlessness of ICE and Border Patrol,” he added. “House Republicans must get to work and end the longest Republican shutdown in history.”
The Senate-approved DHS budget proposal would fund most of the department, except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.
It would ensure funding for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Secret Service.
Senators approved an identical DHS funding proposal by voice vote last week, but Johnson, R-La., rejected it and instead submitted an eight-week stopgap bill to the House for a vote.
That legislation had no chance of clearing procedural hurdles in the Senate, which requires a vote of at least 60 lawmakers to end debate.
Objections to immigration enforcement
Senate Democrats initially withheld approval of the DHS spending bill after federal officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January. They have since repeatedly stated that they will not authorize further funding for immigration and deportation activities without recent guardrails.
Thune agreed with Schumer last week to pass a DHS funding bill without any recent money for ICE or the Border Patrol, which will receive tens of billions from the Republicans’ “big, beautiful” bill.
Republican lawmakers said at the time that the idea was to pass another reconciliation package to further enhance funding for immigration enforcement and deportations.
“For my Democratic colleagues, this bill is the moderate option. What comes next will accelerate deportations,” Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt said during floor debate at the time. “To my Republican colleagues: Let this be a rallying cry every time Democrats impede the safety of American families, the wall goes 10 feet higher, and ICE gets another $100 billion.”
Thune and Johnson released a statement Wednesday saying they had negotiated a deal with Trump’s support to do just that.
“By pursuing this two-pronged approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the department, ensure that all federal employees are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that these law enforcement activities can continue unhindered,” they said. “In return, Democrats will once again demonstrate to the American people their support for open borders and keeping criminal illegal immigrants in America.”
Trump wrote in his social media post, “Republicans are UNITED and are working on a plan that will increase funding for our AMAZING Border Patrol and Immigration Officers.”
