Johnson, Thune agree on a two-track plan to reopen the Department of Homeland Security
'In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House will be following through on the President’s directive'
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WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announced Wednesday a two-track plan to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security and end the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history.
“In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House will be following through on the President’s directive by fully funding the entire Department of Homeland Security on two parallel tracks: through the appropriations process and through the reconciliation process,” the leaders said in a joint statement.
The announcement marks a reversal for Johnson, who on March 27 dismissed a bipartisan Senate bill that omitted ICE and CBP funding.
At the time, Johnson told reporters at the Capitol, “This gambit that was done last night is a joke.
“I’m quite convinced that it can’t be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill. We’re not doing that,” he said at the time.
The House passed its own legislation to fund DHS for 60 days, which was not taken up in the Senate after both chambers departed for a two-week recess, with the shutdown reaching a record 46 days.
Under the new plan, Republicans would push ICE and border enforcement funding through reconciliation, allowing the GOP to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
Funding for the rest of DHS would be done via the regular appropriations process, which will need Democratic votes to pass.
The Senate Budget Committee has already begun work on the reconciliation bill, with President Donald Trump setting a June 1 deadline for Congress to send it to his desk.
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