House Republicans ended a standoff with the Senate on Thursday, passing Homeland Security funding through a voice vote that will close out the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history.
The collapse in Republican resistance came after leadership negotiated a compromise in early April. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune sketched out a two-track approach: fund most of DHS through standard appropriations, while addressing immigration enforcement separately through budget reconciliation.
The alternative was bleak. Hardliners on the House side had pushed for holding out until the Senate passed a reconciliation bill that would beef up ICE and Border Patrol funding. That route would have left DHS shuttered until mid-May, an untenable position politically.
Rank-and-file Republicans had dug in against what they viewed as defunding law enforcement. The original proposal to fund DHS without securing money for immigration enforcement drew fierce pushback from members who saw it as a capitulation on border security priorities.
The two-track solution split the difference. DHS funding now flows through regular appropriations for most agencies, while ICE and Border Patrol remain covered by 2025 funding already in place. The House moved forward Wednesday night on a budget resolution that will enable lawmakers to pass billions in new immigration enforcement spending through reconciliation, keeping that piece in partisan hands.
The shutdown, which began in December, had stretched longer than the 35-day closure under President Trump in 2018 and the 21-day shutdown in 2013. Lawmakers will now turn attention to the next funding fights on the calendar.
Author James Rodriguez: "This was a textbook case of Republicans learning that shutdown theater has its limits when it comes to getting what you want."
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