ICE agents search the passenger of a truck while detaining him and the driver during a traffic stop Feb. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
WASHINGTON – Republican leaders in Congress appeared to agree Tuesday on how to fund immigration efforts for the next three years as they released a partisan measure that will pave the way for a special process known as budget reconciliation.
But they disagreed on another issue: When should a bipartisan funding bill pass for the enormous majority of the Department of Homeland Security that would end a shutdown that has been ongoing since mid-February?
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during a morning news conference that he wants to ensure funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol doesn’t fall by the wayside, so he held up a Senate-passed bill that would fund most of the closed DHS programs.
“The concern on our part is that if you do most of the department first, they could be left out. We can’t allow that,” Johnson said. “So we’re working on it. The order is important.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he has “heard” that the House could approve the regular DHS funding bill as soon as the Senate approves the recent GOP budget resolution, which could happen as early as this week. This appeared to be at odds with the plans Johnson had laid out.
To be released, both chambers of Congress must pass a budget resolution the complicated process of budget reconciliation They hope to utilize it to fund ICE and the Border Patrol for the next three years.
“I don’t think DHS has the money to fund all of these agencies for that long,” Thune said, referring to the Trump administration’s move to pay employees during the shutdown under Republicans’ “big, beautiful” law. “But that’s probably a question they have to answer.”
White House officials, he added, have pushed for the House to approve the Senate-passed DHS funding bill, which would formally end the shutdown and ensure uniform paychecks for employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration.
Thune said it will take a while for the Senate to pass the actual reconciliation bill, which can only happen after both chambers approve a budget resolution.
“I think, as you all know, it takes some time for reconciliation to happen here,” he said. “And I think there’s only so much time that they can continue to fund the various agencies that are currently unfunded.”
70 billion dollars
Republicans in the Senate published a budget resolution Later this morning, that would give the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee the opportunity to draft a bill that would spend up to $70 billion on immigration enforcement and give the Judiciary Committee the same limit.
Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wrote in a statement that the budget resolution directs these two committees to “produce a reconciliation bill that will fully fund Border Patrol and ICE for 3.5 years and carry us through the Trump presidency.”
Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, the panel’s ranking member, wrote in his own statement: “Republicans are hell-bent on passing another bill to provide even more funding to ICE and (Customs and Border Protection) – agencies that were already funded at multiples of their previous budgets last year!”
“Republicans also rejected any common-sense reforms to these agencies, such as requiring them to carry identification or obtain search warrants before breaking into homes,” Merkley added. “Instead, the Republican plan includes more money for more secret police tactics that are terrorizing communities across America.”
After federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January, Democrats began pushing for guardrails for immigration officials.
Vote-a-rama to push GOP
The Senate voted 52-46 in the afternoon to move forward with the budget resolution, planning a final vote on passage later this week.
That Senate process requires marathon voting on amendments, something Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a speech that the party will utilize to challenge Republicans’ legislative priorities.
“Americans want to know why Republicans aren’t fighting to lower their gas, health care, food and housing costs,” he said. “During reconciliation, Democrats will ensure this majority is accountable to the American people.”
The amendment votes won’t just be about politics, especially as Democrats try to regain control of the Senate Midterm elections in November.
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter categorized The re-election bids of Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted are “lopsided” races, making them the most vulnerable members of their party.
Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan’s race is classified as “skinny Republican,” making him more vulnerable than many of his colleagues seeking re-election.
Democrats running to unseat these three Republican senators could utilize their votes to support specific amendments in campaign ads or debates later this year.
