House Caves as Senate Passes Measure to Fund Most of DHS
The United States Senate moved forward Thursday with a bipartisan proposal to fund most operations under the Department of Homeland Security, approving the measure by voice vote after nearly 50 days of funding uncertainty.
However, the agreement comes with a major caveat: it deliberately excludes funding for key immigration enforcement arms, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and significant portions of U.S. Border Patrol—both central to President Trump’s aggressive push to secure the southern border.
The legislation now heads to the United States House of Representatives, though lawmakers are not expected to act until returning to Washington on April 13, according to Fox News.
Trump Pushes Two-Track Strategy to Fund Border Security
President Donald J. Trump has urged Republicans to break the impasse swiftly, backing a two-step approach: pass immediate funding for general DHS operations now, then secure full funding for ICE and Border Patrol through budget reconciliation—a process that bypasses the need for Democratic votes.
“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 wrote Wednesday on Truth Social.
Under the Senate framework, roughly $11 billion would go toward customs-related operations, but enforcement agencies would be left waiting for a second legislative package. Trump has made clear he wants that follow-up bill on his desk by June 1.
House Republicans Reject Senate Deal
Despite Senate passage, House Republicans are pushing back hard. GOP leaders blasted the measure as a “crap sandwich,” citing its failure to fund frontline immigration enforcement.
Speaker Mike Johnson initially resisted the Senate plan but appeared to soften after Trump signaled support for the broader two-track strategy.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune defended the compromise while placing blame squarely on Democrats.
“I think this whole where we are is just a regrettable place. We have the Democrats who are holding the appropriations process hostage and their anti-law enforcement, open borders, defund the police wing is the ascendant wing,” Thune said. “And there, I think everybody’s afraid of them, and so we’re stuck in a spot that’s just not good for the country, the future of the appropriations process, or, for that matter, the future of the Senate.”
On the other side, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer dismissed the House GOP’s alternative proposal as “dead on arrival,” underscoring the entrenched divide.
Reconciliation Fight Looms Over Border Funding
With negotiations stalled, Republicans are increasingly turning to budget reconciliation as their path forward—a strategy they successfully used last year to allocate $75 billion toward ICE enforcement over multiple fiscal years.
Some GOP lawmakers are now considering even longer-term funding commitments, potentially extending support for immigration enforcement agencies well beyond Trump’s current term.
But the strategy is not without risks. Reconciliation requires Republicans to remain unified while identifying spending offsets—an effort that previously triggered internal clashes over cuts to programs like Medicaid and food assistance.
With no immediate legislative deadline forcing consensus, some lawmakers worry that familiar fractures within the party could resurface at a critical moment.
As the DHS funding fight stretches on, the stakes remain high: national security, border enforcement, and the broader direction of U.S. immigration policy all hang in the balance. For President Trump and congressional Republicans, the coming weeks will test whether they can deliver on one of their core promises—restoring full operational strength to America’s border agencies despite fierce opposition.