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Speaker Johnson Reaffirms Opposition to Senate DHS Bill and Bets on GOP‑Only Deal Amid Ongoing Shutdown
After President Trump ordered DHS to restore TSA pay, the Senate unanimously approved a late‑night bill to fund most of Homeland Security through September—restoring TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard and cybersecurity units—but explicitly carving out ICE and much of CBP. Speaker Mike Johnson rejected the bipartisan carve‑out as unacceptable and is advancing a GOP‑only continuing resolution to fund all of DHS, a move that splits House conservatives and faces likely rejection in the Senate, leaving the partial shutdown unresolved even as TSA pay and some airport operations begin to stabilize.
📌 Key Facts
- Early Friday after a marathon late‑night session the Senate unanimously (voice/unanimous consent) approved a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security through September—explicitly funding TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, cybersecurity units and much of DHS while excluding funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and major Border Patrol/CBP operations—and sent the measure to the House.
- The Senate push was accelerated after President Trump announced he would sign an order directing DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to restart TSA pay; GOP senators including John Thune then moved a conventional funding vehicle (Thune asked Appropriations Chair Susan Collins to draft text and aimed to clear it by unanimous consent) while planning to address ICE/Border Patrol later via reconciliation.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson publicly rejected the Senate carve‑out—calling the plan a 'joke'/'detestable' and saying he would not bring it to the floor—and instead advanced a GOP‑only continuing resolution (about 60 days / eight weeks) to fund all of DHS; Johnson said he had President Trump's support and the House Rules Committee advanced the CR, which the House passed largely along party lines.
- Senate Democrats and leaders including Chuck Schumer immediately declared the House GOP CR 'dead on arrival' in the Senate, many senators had already left Washington (complicating any rapid return), and Senate Republicans signaled they would pursue ICE/CBP funding and related immigration priorities later via party‑line reconciliation (reports tied that possible package to large Pentagon offsets).
- Hard‑line House conservatives and the Freedom Caucus opposed the Senate deal—demanding full‑year funding for ICE and CBP and additional provisions such as voter‑ID—while a number of House Republicans warned that rejecting the Senate bill risks the GOP 'owning' the shutdown, exposing sharp intraparty division over strategy.
- Operationally the shutdown produced severe strain at airports: TSA reported call‑out rates as high as ~40% at some hubs and roughly 480–500 officers quit, producing hours‑long security waits; after the presidential directive TSA began issuing some back pay and waits improved at many airports, though unions reported missing overtime, tax‑withholding errors and incomplete back pay.
- ICE and CBP remained relatively insulated from the immediate funding squeeze because of roughly $75 billion in advance funds from last summer's 'one big, beautiful bill,' reducing short‑term leverage for Democrats seeking reforms (Democrats had pushed for measures like mask bans and warrant requirements but did not secure them in the Senate carve‑out).
- The series of moves and counter‑moves came roughly six weeks into the DHS funding standoff (reports cited the shutdown at about 42 days when the Senate acted and about 44 days as the fight continued), setting up a continuing, high‑stakes clash over border funding, timing, and whether disputes will be resolved by a bipartisan House vote, a GOP‑only CR, or follow‑on reconciliation.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2025, the most common nationalities among individuals deported by ICE were from Mexico (approximately 85,000), Guatemala (around 45,000), and Honduras (about 40,000), accounting for the majority of deportations.
Immigrants with no criminal convictions represented the sharpest growth in the ICE detention population in 2025, becoming the largest group in detention.
Most growth in ICE detention population immigrants with no criminal convictions — NPR
Black migrants make up 5.4% of the undocumented population in the US but account for 20.3% of migrants facing removal based on criminal convictions as of 2025.
Black Undocumented Migrants Face Far Higher Deportation Rates — Capital B News
Root causes of migration from Central America to the US include pervasive violence, economic inequality, poverty, corruption, and climate change impacts as identified in 2024-2025 analyses.
Central American Migration: Root Causes and U.S. Policy — Congressional Research Service
Reducing unauthorized immigration by 50% would raise real wages of U.S.-born workers by only 0.15% nationally in the short run, according to a 2026 economic study.
New Research Finds Reducing Immigration Does Not Help U.S. Workers — Forbes
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
Washington’s March Shutdown Madness
"A Wall Street Journal editorial criticizes the political maneuvering around the recent Senate DHS funding carve‑out (which excludes ICE and parts of CBP), argues Democrats are reveling in the resulting TSA/airport chaos, and urges an end to the shutdown that is disrupting travelers and homeland security operations."
📰 Source Timeline (29)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
March 31, 2026
11:40 PM
Johnson digs in after GOP resistance torpedoes DHS funding deal
New information:
- Johnson told Fox News that the Senate bill "literally put the number zero in the bill for the funding of border security and customs and immigration enforcement" and said, "We can't do that."
- Axios reports that Johnson is "inching closer to hard red lines" and has staked out a position that GOP leaders will not help pass any DHS deal that does not fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
- President Trump told the New York Post he is weighing using a rare constitutional power to force Congress to return from recess for a special session to address the DHS shutdown.
- Axios notes that a Democratic-led discharge petition to fund DHS without ICE and CBP remains a theoretical threat but is seen by at least one GOP moderate (Rep. David Valadao) as unlikely to attract Republican signatures.
- Problem Solvers Caucus co-chairs Brian Fitzpatrick and Tom Suozzi are floating a bipartisan bill to fully fund DHS with ICE reforms such as limits on masking and new warrant requirements, and Rep. Don Bacon says he intends to support it; GOP leadership has not yet taken a position.
March 30, 2026
6:42 PM
Airport bottlenecks ease as TSA workers get paid, but DHS shutdown continues
New information:
- Post‑order, airport operations have measurably improved: Houston’s Bush Intercontinental went from four‑hour waits to 10 minutes, and previously hard‑hit airports like BWI and Atlanta returned to near‑normal wait times.
- Union officials now confirm that TSA workers have received some back pay but not all, with reports of missing overtime and incorrect tax withholding, and expect remaining back pay from an initial partial paycheck to arrive by next week.
- TSA updated its furlough guidance on Sunday, removing prior language that allowed officers to seek furloughs if they could not report for shutdown‑related reasons such as lack of transportation or childcare, which unions say leaves some workers exposed to looming discipline for absences.
- The piece quantifies the shutdown’s workforce toll by quoting TSA leadership and union officials that more than 500 officers left TSA and thousands called out during the unpaid period, offering a clearer picture of attrition and strain than earlier reporting.
5:38 PM
Senators defend two-week recess as record-breaking government shutdown drags on
New information:
- Confirms that after the Senate’s partial-DHS bill, the House instead passed a two‑month full DHS funding extension on largely party-line vote late Friday.
- Details that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer labeled the House extension "dead on arrival" in the Senate because Democrats oppose its structure.
- Adds on-record pushback from Sen. Chris Coons and Sen. John Hoeven framing the two‑week congressional recess as legitimate work time despite the ongoing shutdown and unpaid DHS workforce.
4:35 PM
WATCH LIVE: White House holds briefing as DHS shutdown drags on
New information:
- TSA confirms it has "immediately begun the process of paying its workforce" under Trump’s directive, with paychecks set to start arriving as early as Monday.
- The article provides specific operational data: multiple airports hit greater than 40% TSA callout rates, and nearly 500 TSA officers have quit during the current shutdown.
- It updates conditions at specific hubs, noting markedly improved wait times at Atlanta and Houston on Monday morning but continued waits over two hours at LaGuardia.
- BWI is advising travelers to arrive three hours before departure because of ongoing longer‑than‑normal security waits.
- The shutdown has now lasted 44 days, formally eclipsing last fall’s 43‑day full‑government shutdown.
- ICE deployments to airports, described previously as temporary, are now explicitly framed by border czar Tom Homan as contingent on how fast TSA staff come back to work.
12:19 PM
Travel issues continue at airports as House rejects Senate deal that could end partial shutdown
New information:
- CBS provides on‑the‑ground reporting that travelers over the weekend faced more long lines at TSA checkpoints across airports.
- It explicitly links those travel issues to the House rejection of the Senate’s partial‑DHS funding deal.
- It reiterates that Trump’s new executive order could get TSA workers paid soon, framing it in the context of continuing operational strain.
March 27, 2026
11:16 PM
Shutdown fight escalates as Johnson calls bipartisan Senate deal "detestable"
New information:
- CBS reports that Speaker Mike Johnson publicly labeled the bipartisan Senate partial‑DHS funding bill 'detestable' in on‑camera remarks.
- Johnson said the House would vote 'as soon as possible' on its own DHS funding plan, reiterating his opposition to the Senate carve‑out approach.
- The piece underscores that the Senate‑approved bill to fund most of DHS, including TSA, faces 'major hurdles' in the House due to Johnson’s stance.
10:15 PM
House GOP’s DHS funding measure survives critical hurdle but path uncertain in Senate
New information:
- The House Rules Committee on Friday advanced a two‑month (60‑day) DHS stopgap measure, allowing a full House vote on Johnson’s preferred full‑DHS continuing resolution.
- House Republicans are expected to have the votes to pass the 60‑day CR, but Johnson can afford only one GOP defection if the vote is along party lines.
- House Democrats, led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, plan to oppose the CR and are instead calling for passage of the Senate‑passed carve‑out bill to reopen 'non‑controversial' DHS components and restore TSA pay.
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared that a 60‑day status‑quo DHS CR is 'dead on arrival' in the Senate, underscoring that the House bill has virtually no path in the upper chamber.
- The piece reiterates that the Senate‑passed bill would provide full‑year funding for DHS but carve out roughly $5.5 billion for ICE and largely strip CBP funding except for about $11 billion in operations and support.
- The article notes that many senators have already left Washington, some on foreign trips, further complicating prospects for quickly reconciling competing House and Senate approaches.
10:12 PM
House Republicans reject Senate bill to fund DHS amid shutdown
New information:
- DHS now says TSA employees could begin receiving paychecks as early as Monday.
- This payment timeline follows President Trump’s signing of an executive order specifically directing DHS to restore TSA pay.
- CBS packages this timing context directly with fresh Hill reporting that House Republicans have rejected the Senate bill to fund DHS amid the shutdown.
9:10 PM
Johnson calls out GOP Senate over "joke" of a DHS plan
New information:
- Axios reports Johnson publicly labeled the late‑night Senate DHS carve‑out deal a 'joke' and explicitly blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as the 'engineer' of the plan while criticizing Senate Republicans for not objecting.
- Johnson said he had just spoken with President Trump, claimed Trump 'understands exactly what we're doing and why, and he supports it,' and is proceeding with an eight‑week DHS continuing resolution he plans to send to a largely emptied Senate.
- House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain told Axios the House Republican Conference will be united behind the CR, said Johnson addressed members’ concerns on a conference call, and noted she has not heard from Senate GOP leadership but has spoken to Trump twice that day.
- The article describes visible friction, including a House Republican publicly 'shaming' Thune in an airport and notes that, until now, House and Senate Republicans have mostly suppressed internal disputes in Trump’s second term.
- Axios underscores that Senate leaders had expected the House to swallow the carve‑out plan as the 'easy part,' with a more difficult fight over ICE/CBP funding and offsets expected later in a second reconciliation bill.
8:33 PM
Johnson accuses Democrats of taking government hostage over ‘crazy’ immigration agenda
New information:
- Johnson, on a two‑hour House GOP conference call Friday, said Republicans are 'united' in opposing any deal they say would 'reopen the borders' and 'stop the deportation of dangerous criminal illegal aliens.'
- He accused Senate Democrats of 'taking hostage the funding processes of government' to impose what he called a 'radical, crazy' immigration agenda.
- Johnson confirmed House Republicans will put forward a continuing resolution to fund all DHS agencies at current levels, rather than accept the Senate bill that funds most of DHS but carves out ICE and Border Patrol.
- Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries publicly argued that 'the only thing standing between ending this chaos or not are House Republicans,' highlighting a bipartisan Senate bill with 'uniform support' he says should be brought to the House floor.
- The article reiterates that President Trump signed an executive order Thursday to restore TSA pay without new appropriations, as TSA resignations and long airport lines continue to ratchet up pressure on Congress.
8:08 PM
WATCH: Johnson rejects Homeland Security funding bill passed by the Senate as a 'joke'
New information:
- On March 27, 2026, Speaker Mike Johnson publicly labeled the Senate‑passed DHS funding bill a 'joke' in a televised news conference.
- Johnson said, 'We're going to do something different,' and challenged the Senate to take up the House’s own continuing resolution on Monday, contingent on its passage in the House.
- The piece notes some senators have already left town after the early‑morning Senate vote, meaning they would have to return if the House passes a different DHS funding measure.
6:41 PM
Speaker Mike Johnson, House Republicans reject Senate bill to fund DHS and end partial shutdown
New information:
- CBS report confirms Speaker Mike Johnson publicly rejected the Senate-approved DHS funding deal as a way to end the partial shutdown.
- Johnson now says House Republicans will move a 60‑day bill to fund DHS at current spending levels, not the Senate plan that funds most of DHS while carving out ICE and parts of CBP.
- The piece reiterates that the Senate bill explicitly excludes Immigration and Customs Enforcement and parts of Customs and Border Protection from its restored funding, clarifying the carve‑out Johnson is objecting to.
6:05 PM
House Republicans privately express ‘tremendous concerns’ with Mike Johnson’s play call on DHS
New information:
- Speaker Mike Johnson told House Republicans on a March 27 GOP‑only conference call that he will not bring the unanimously passed Senate partial DHS funding bill to the House floor, saying, 'We are not gonna eat the crap sandwich the Senate sent us.'
- Johnson is instead vowing to advance an eight‑week continuing resolution that would fund all of DHS, a plan Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer immediately labeled 'dead on arrival,' with a senior Senate GOP aide quoted as saying there is a 'zero percent chance' the Johnson alternative passes the Senate.
- Multiple House Republicans on the call — including Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Ann Wagner, Carlos Gimenez, and Tom Barrett — expressed 'tremendous concerns,' warned the House GOP would 'end up owning this shutdown,' and urged leadership to 'take yes for an answer.'
- Hard‑line conservatives such as Reps. Keith Self, Ralph Norman and Byron Donalds continued to denounce the Senate bill for omitting ICE funding and the SAVE America Act voter‑ID provisions, with Self accusing senators of 'acting cowardly' and having 'scurried like rats' out of town.
3:42 PM
House conservatives rage against Senate DHS shutdown deal
New information:
- House Freedom Caucus announced it will withhold support for the Senate DHS bill unless it provides full‑year appropriations for ICE and CBP and adds voter‑ID requirements.
- HFC Chair Rep. Andy Harris publicly blasted the Senate deal for omitting funding for ICE’s child sex‑trafficking investigations and Border Patrol, calling the agreement 'bad for America.'
- House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the GOP’s main objective is to get the 'entire Department of Homeland Security properly funded,' but has not committed to the Senate bill.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated that House Democrats intend to support the Senate legislation to reopen DHS and pay TSA agents.
- Sen. Rick Scott and other Senate Republicans criticized the Senate deal and are signaling a future budget package to boost Trump’s immigration agenda.
- House rules currently bar Speaker Mike Johnson from using a same‑day suspension vote (two‑thirds threshold) between Thursday and Sunday to advance the Senate bill, complicating the path forward.
3:35 PM
Mike Johnson faces a rocky path to funding DHS
New information:
- Axios adds on‑the‑record quotes from Freedom Caucus members Chip Roy and Andy Harris blasting the Senate bill for not funding Border Patrol and core ICE components and insisting there is no immediate airport impact if the House does not act Friday.
- The article reports explicit Freedom Caucus opposition to Johnson bringing the Senate bill up under suspension of the rules, with Rep. Andy Biggs telling Axios that doing so would violate 'the rule' and members refusing to discuss potential consequences for Johnson.
- It details Johnson’s narrow procedural options and timing constraints: using suspension would require either unanimous consent or waiting until Monday under House rules, and moving through the Rules Committee would require near‑unanimous GOP support he currently lacks.
- Rep. Nick Langworthy, backing Johnson, says as long as the Speaker retains President Trump’s support ('jury of one down the street'), he can withstand hardliner threats and should take a firmer hand with the right flank, arguing House conservatives are blocking a bill that could 'solve 80% of the country's problem.'
3:17 PM
Senate approves most DHS funding as Americans decry TSA chaos lines
New information:
- CBS segment reiterates that the Senate has approved a bill to fund most of DHS, with particular focus on restoring TSA funding amid chaotic, hours‑long airport security lines.
- Emphasizes that the measure is now under consideration in the House while passengers continue to experience severe delays and operational strain at U.S. airports.
1:40 PM
Will Congress fix TSA mess and fund DHS before going on break?
New information:
- CBS segment reiterates that the Senate has now approved a DHS funding bill covering most of the department, with the House next to decide whether to take it up before a scheduled recess.
- It frames the measure explicitly around fixing the 'TSA mess' — unpaid officers and mounting airport disruptions — as the central political pressure point on House leaders.
- It emphasizes the time pressure of an upcoming break, sharpening the question of whether House Republicans will move the Senate bill or leave the partial DHS shutdown in place.
1:21 PM
WATCH LIFE: House considers funding deal to reopen Department of Homeland Security
New information:
- Confirms the Senate approved the Homeland Security funding package unanimously without a roll‑call vote early Friday morning.
- Details that the bill funds TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard and 'much of the rest' of DHS, while excluding ICE and Border Protection but funding Customs.
- Notes President Trump said he would sign an order to immediately pay TSA agents to stop 'Chaos at the Airports.'
- Describes Speaker Mike Johnson’s next steps as uncertain and says House passage will almost certainly require bipartisan support due to opposition on both flanks.
- Quotes Sen. Eric Schmitt insisting 'We will fully fund ICE. That is what this fight is about,' framing the next phase of the conflict.
1:07 PM
DHS shutdown live updates as Senate deal without ICE funding heads to House
New information:
- Confirms the Senate approved the DHS funding bill in a voice vote after 2 a.m. ahead of a two‑week recess, formally sending it to the House.
- Details House schedule: chamber returns for legislative business at 9 a.m., with votes expected around 10 a.m., though no DHS votes were listed on the initial schedule and any move to fast‑track the bill faces procedural hurdles.
- Explains that House GOP leaders could try to bypass the Rules Committee and move the bill under suspension of the rules, but can only do so on Monday–Wednesday and would need a two‑thirds majority and substantial Democratic support.
- Reports that an earlier Senate procedural vote on a broader DHS funding deal was held open more than six hours and ultimately failed, after Republicans said they had given Democrats their 'last and final' offer on tying funding to immigration enforcement reforms.
- Adds that Trump’s announcement he would sign an emergency order to restart TSA pay eased 'immediate pressure' in the Senate and helped clear the way for this narrower funding bill, which omits ICE and parts of CBP.
- Quotes John Thune saying Democrats 'kissed that opportunity goodbye' on enforcement reforms by refusing to fund ICE and CBP, signaling Republicans now intend to pursue immigration enforcement funding only through reconciliation.
12:46 PM
Senate approves most funding for DHS after Trump vows to restart pay for TSA officers
New information:
- CBS explicitly states the Senate vote to fund most of DHS was unanimous.
- The segment notes the agreement came just hours after President Trump said he would sign an executive order to immediately pay TSA officers.
- It reiterates that ICE funding is not included in the Senate package and that the bill now heads to the House.
11:33 AM
Senate votes to fund most of DHS. And, Trump extends Iran's deadline to reopen strait
New information:
- NPR reiterates that the Senate bill funds TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard and cybersecurity units, while explicitly excluding ICE’s main immigration‑enforcement operations and most border‑control funding.
- The piece emphasizes that while Democrats refused to fund ICE and CBP in this package, Republicans had already locked in about $75 billion for ICE last summer, leaving the agency relatively insulated from the current shutdown.
- NPR reports internal Democratic concern that once most of DHS is funded, they may lose leverage to force changes in ICE tactics such as mask bans.
11:27 AM
Senate passes overnight bill to fund most of Homeland Security as fight nears end and more top headlines
New information:
- Fox framing describes the Senate action as an 'overnight' passage and a top headline, reinforcing that this is the leading development in ending the DHS funding fight.
- The newsletter packaging highlights related downstream impacts like TSA officers receiving repeated $0 paychecks and 'harrowing' hardship stories, underscoring the on‑the‑ground consequences of the partial shutdown.
- The item ties the Senate bill explicitly to a broader narrative that the Homeland Security funding 'fight nears end,' suggesting expectations in political media that House action or a final resolution is close, though it does not report a specific House vote.
9:44 AM
Senate Votes to Fund Most of D.H.S. in Bid to End Partial Shutdown
New information:
- The NYT piece characterizes the chamber’s action explicitly as a bid to end the partial shutdown, sharpening the strategic framing of the vote.
- It likely provides exact vote tallies, the timing of the vote on March 27, 2026, and additional detail on which DHS components are funded versus left out, beyond the earlier generic structure.
- It likely adds fresh quotes and positioning from key Senate leaders in both parties about why they backed the partial‑funding approach and how they expect the House to respond.
9:40 AM
Late night Senate vote puts DHS shutdown one step closer to largely ending
New information:
- Axios reports the Senate vote was taken early Friday morning by unanimous consent, with no objections from any of the 53 Republicans or 47 Democrats.
- The bill would fund most DHS sub‑agencies, explicitly excluding ICE and Customs and Border Protection, through September.
- The article ties the breakthrough directly to President Trump’s announcement that he would sign an order directing DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to restart TSA pay outside the appropriations process, which prompted Thune to push a conventional funding bill instead.
- Axios notes ICE and CBP have remained open using roughly $75 billion in added funds from the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, even as they are excluded from this new DHS funding package.
- The piece underlines that House Democrats have already been pushing for a similar strategy and that negotiations will now focus specifically on ICE/CBP funding and potential reforms after several controversial killings in Minnesota.
8:59 AM
Senate approves partial funding for DHS, but not ICE, sending bill to House
New information:
- Confirms the bill was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate early Friday morning after a marathon late‑night session.
- Details that the bill funds all of DHS through the end of the fiscal year except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations at Customs and Border Protection, which Republicans plan to handle via party‑line budget reconciliation.
- Clarifies that Democrats failed to secure any of the ICE/CBP reform conditions they had been demanding (mask bans, judicial‑warrant requirements for entries, etc.), despite winning the split‑funding structure.
- Adds explicit partisan framing from key lawmakers: Sen. Chuck Schumer claiming Democrats 'held the line' and calling it a win, and Sen. James Lankford arguing Democrats are trying to get reforms without funding enforcement operations.
- Provides sequence and timing: chaotic week of on‑again/off‑again negotiations, ambiguous messaging from President Trump, followed by his late‑Thursday order to restart TSA pay via DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin just before the Senate deal crossed the finish line.
- Reiterates that ICE still has funding from the GOP reconciliation bill passed last summer, undercutting Democratic leverage for immediate reforms.
7:19 AM
Senate votes to fund much of DHS, minus immigration enforcement
New information:
- The Senate has now formally voted to fund 'large swaths' of DHS after a 42‑day standoff, moving the bill to the House for consideration.
- The package explicitly funds TSA and DHS emergency response divisions while omitting funding for the department's main immigration enforcement operations.
- TSA acting administrator Ha Nguyen McNeil told lawmakers absences are as high as 40% at some airports and that more than 480 TSA officers have quit during the shutdown, warning of impacts on the agency's security posture.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson publicly criticized the idea of breaking up DHS funding as 'shameful' but has not committed to how the House will handle the Senate bill.
6:25 AM
DHS shutdown breakthrough comes at cost for Republicans as funding fights nears end
New information:
- The Senate unanimously advanced a last‑minute deal in the early hours of Friday to reopen most of DHS 42 days into the shutdown, explicitly leaving ICE and parts of CBP unfunded.
- The package gives Senate Democrats what they sought on this bill—no new funding for ICE or certain CBP operations—but does not include the ICE/CBP reforms Democrats had demanded (e.g., judicial‑warrant requirements, unmasking agents).
- John Thune is quoted defending the agreement as a Republican win on policy because Democrats got 'zero reforms,' stressing that Republicans had tried for weeks to fund all of DHS.
- Republicans are openly relying on the fact that ICE and CBP still have about $75 billion in advance money from Trump’s earlier 'one big, beautiful bill,' which Thune says was deliberately 'front loaded' in anticipation of a standoff like this.
- The article underscores that the Senate bill now moves to a skeptical House GOP conference, framing it as a politically costly concession for Republicans who back Trump’s hard‑line immigration agenda.
12:08 AM
Thune lays out next steps after Trump's move to restore TSA pay
New information:
- Thune emailed Republican Senate offices Thursday night saying Republicans must "work together to ensure that DHS, including ICE and Border Patrol, is funded in a sustainable manner for the rest of the year."
- He said he hopes to fund as many portions of DHS as possible through the traditional appropriations process so reconciliation efforts can be focused specifically on ICE and Border Patrol.
- Thune has asked Appropriations Chair Susan Collins to draft text to fund as many parts of DHS as possible and plans to 'hotline' the resolution soon, aiming to clear it by unanimous consent.
- Thune characterized this partial-funding approach as "not the outcome that we wanted," blaming Democrats as "unwilling to support law enforcement."
- The article explicitly ties Thune’s new guidance to President Trump’s unilateral directive to his new DHS secretary to "immediately pay our TSA Agents" during the shutdown.
- The piece notes that TSA and airport lines were the 'linchpin' of any deal, and that Republicans now see FEMA, the Coast Guard, and other DHS components as possible to fund via regular appropriations, while ICE/Border Patrol may be pushed into a high‑risk reconciliation bill that could also include up to $200 billion for the Pentagon tied to Iran and the SAVE America Act.
March 26, 2026