House and Senate Republicans have come to an agreement to reopen the Department of Homeland Security after weeks of negotiations, with plans to fund immigration enforcement in a later spending bill to circumvent Democratic opposition.
In a rare joint statement on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., announced they had settled on a deal to reopen the agency after the two appeared to be in contradiction with each other just last week. As part of the deal, the House will pass the Senate bill to reopen all of DHS except for ICE and Customs and Border Protection, with plans to fund those two in a future reconciliation package.
“In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited,” the pair said in a statement. “In return, Democrats will once again demonstrate to the American people their support for open borders and keeping criminal illegal immigrants in America.”
It’s not yet clear when the House will reconvene to vote on the Senate-passed bill. Both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in recess until April 13, although GOP leaders could call lawmakers back early if needed.
The Senate will first need to convene and pass the DHS spending bill through unanimous consent, which is how the upper chamber approved it the first time. The Senate could do that as early as Thursday morning during its pro forma session.
The bill would then be sent back over to the House, where it could be considered in a voice vote or in a roll call vote by the entire chamber.
The plan comes after days of disagreement between House and Senate leaders over how to handle the spending deal, particularly after the Senate passed its DHS deal in the middle of the night on Friday before leaving town just hours later. House Republicans balked at that plan before rejecting it in full, instead offering a 60-day temporary funding extension to buy more time for negotiations.
Johnson himself called the Senate plan “a joke,” before issuing a statement with Thune that it’s the only path forward.
House Democrats already signaled last week they would support the Senate-passed plan, making it likely it will pass the lower chamber when brought up for a vote.
Meanwhile, Republicans on their respective budgetary committees are preparing to draft a reconciliation bill to fund ICE and CBP for the next three years to avoid a similar funding showdown in the future. It’s not clear how quickly that spending package can be passed, but President Donald Trump is urging Republicans to complete it by the beginning of June.
“To the American people: Help is on the way when it comes to making sure ICE and Border Patrol can do their job without being handcuffed by the desires of the Radical Left,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said in a statement. “I know that Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson share this goal.”