Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks to members of the media outside the Senate chamber after unanimously passing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill at the U.S. Capitol on April 2, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
The Senate on Thursday advanced a deal to provide funding to the Department of Homeland Security, including the Transportation Security Administration, to end the flight shutdown that disrupted air travel for much of last month.
The bill was passed in a temporary session, a brief session of both chambers that normally does not involve legislative business, as lawmakers are out of town for a two-week recess.
The House held its own preliminary session late Thursday morning but did not take up the measure, meaning the partial government shutdown will likely extend into the weekend. The House of Representatives is scheduled for its next temporary session on April 6, and neither chamber is scheduled to fully reopen until the week of April 13.
Democrats have refused to fund DHS since February unless changes are made to immigration enforcement practices. In January, federal agents killed two Americans in Minneapolis as part of a federal immigration surge, sparking months of negotiations over the future of federal workers.
Meanwhile, unpaid TSA employees taking time off work or retiring in large numbers are causing long security lines at airports, increasing pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal.
The Senate bill introduced Thursday would fund DHS, except for parts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, all of which have funding available from the 2025 Republican tax and spending package.
The Senate advanced the bill a day after Majority Leader John Thune (R-Louisiana) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) announced they had reached two agreements to fund DHS. Johnson and House Republicans initially rejected the Senate’s approach, with the speaker calling it a “joke” last week.
By Wednesday, Johnson had changed his tune.
“Following this two-pronged approach, a Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, ensure all federal employees are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years, ensuring these law enforcement operations can continue unchecked,” Johnson and Thune said in a joint statement announcing the agreement.
That includes the spending bill the Senate passed Thursday, as well as attempts at budget reconciliation. It’s a way to pass budgets and spending priorities, requiring a simple majority rather than the 60 Senate votes typically needed to overcome a filibuster.
Republicans will aim to fund ICE and CBP through a reconciliation bill that President Donald Trump wants tabled by June 1.
“[We]are working closely with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to ensure that our amazing ICE and Border Patrol agents are supported through a process that does not require votes from radical left Democrats and bypasses the Senate filibuster (which should be abolished immediately!). “We’re going to work as quickly and intensively as possible to replenish the funding,” President Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday. “We’re going to work as quickly and intensively as possible to replenish the funding.” Border Patrol and ICE agents and the radical left Democrats won’t be able to stop us. ”
While President Trump and Republican Congressional leaders have welcomed a two-part approach to funding DHS, the far-right wing of the House Republican Party opposes any bill that excludes funding for ICE and CBP, which could pose an obstacle to passage.
“Let’s make this simple: Giving in to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE means agreeing to defund law enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again. If that’s the vote, I’m saying no,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pennsylvania, posted on X on Wednesday.
