WASHINGTON – After weeks of delay, the House voted Thursday to fund much of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), excluding its immigration enforcement operations, sending the bipartisan package to President Donald Trump for his signature. This decision marks the conclusion of the longest agency shutdown in U.S. history.
The urgency for action was underscored by warnings from the White House that temporary funding utilized by Trump to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel and other agency staff would soon be depleted, leading to potential airport disruptions.
Since February 14, DHS has operated without regular funding, causing significant hardship for its employees. However, key elements of Trump’s immigration agenda remained separately funded, sparking ongoing tensions.
“It is about damn time,” stated Rep. Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut, the leading Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, who had proposed the funding bill over 70 days prior.
The House quickly passed the measure by voice vote, bypassing a formal roll call. This resolution abruptly ended the standoff that had begun months earlier, following Trump’s controversial immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis that prompted a reckoning on Capitol Hill regarding the funding of his policies.
The core of the dispute revolved around Trump’s deportation strategy. Democrats opposed funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol without significant reforms, particularly in light of the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents amid protests against immigration policies in Minneapolis. Conversely, Republicans resisted plans proposed by Democrats to fund TSA and other DHS components without also funding ICE and Border Patrol.
Although the Senate had unanimously approved the bipartisan package a month earlier, it faced delays in the House. Notably, Rep. Mike Johnson from Louisiana had previously labeled the bill a “joke.”
To break the deadlock, House and Senate Republicans opted to address immigration enforcement funding through a budget reconciliation process, a complex procedure that could take weeks. This approach allowed for the passage of a broader bipartisan bill funding TSA agents and other DHS functions. On a narrow party-line vote of 215-211, House Republicans adopted a budget resolution aimed at eventually allocating $70 billion for immigration enforcement and deportations throughout the remainder of Trump’s presidency, which extends to January 2029.
Johnson admitted to previously criticizing the bill but expressed readiness to support it, emphasizing the need to pass it “with no crazy Democrat reforms.”
Some Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, voiced concerns about separating immigration-related funding, calling it “offensive to the men and women who serve in ICE and Border Patrol, and are serving this country every single day.”
In light of the ongoing funding crisis, the White House urged Congress to take swift action, indicating that the temporary funds used by Trump to pay TSA and other workers were rapidly depleting. A memo from the Office of Management and Budget highlighted that DHS would soon run out of essential operating funds, jeopardizing critical personnel and operations. Most of the department’s employees, classified as essential, have remained on the job despite the funding challenges.
The funding crisis has also affected immigration enforcement workers, who have relied on a surplus of cash—approximately $170 billion—approved by Congress as part of Trump’s tax cuts last year. Many TSA employees have depended on Trump’s executive actions to ensure their paychecks, yet the financial resources are dwindling, with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin recently noting salaries amounting to $1.6 billion every two weeks.
Since the onset of the shutdown, over 1,000 TSA officers have resigned, according to Airlines for America, a trade group representing U.S. airlines, which has called on Congress to fully fund the department. “The urgency to provide predictable and stable funding for TSA is growing stronger by the day,” the group stated, highlighting the detrimental impact of Congress’s inaction on aviation workers and customers.
Looking ahead, the budget resolution process utilized to address immigration funding mirrors the strategy employed last year for Trump’s tax cuts, which faced opposition from all Democrats. With the resolution now adopted, lawmakers will draft the actual $70 billion funding bill for ICE and Border Patrol, with votes anticipated in May. Trump has expressed his desire for the bill to be on his desk by June 1.
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Associated Press writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
