A funding standoff over the Department of Homeland Security has intensified in Washington, with House Republicans refusing to advance a bipartisan Senate measure to reopen most of the agency unless Congress first guarantees funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, prolonging what has become a record shutdown.
The Senate legislation, passed unanimously, would restore operations for major DHS components including the Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency, while deferring decisions on ICE and CBP funding to a separate reconciliation bill. That sequencing has triggered resistance within the House Republican conference, where lawmakers argue that enforcement funding must be secured upfront.
Speaker Mike Johnson has attempted to broker a two-step approach alongside Senate Republican leadership and Donald Trump. The proposal would first pass the Senate bill to reopen DHS broadly, followed by a partisan reconciliation package to fund border enforcement and implement policy changes without requiring Democratic support.
That strategy has met opposition from within Johnson's own ranks. During a private conference call, multiple Republican lawmakers insisted they would not support reopening DHS without concrete assurances that the reconciliation bill would pass and include robust funding for ICE and Border Patrol.
Representative Randy Fine summarized the sentiment, telling The Hill there was "no desire to pass the Senate open borders bill and then hope that we get a reconciliation bill that would close the border." He added: "We have the Senate open borders bill. Now, they've got to send over the one that will keep the border closed."
The internal divide has created procedural challenges for House leadership. Under standard rules, Republicans would need near-unanimous support within their conference to advance the Senate bill-support that is currently lacking. An alternative path, using the "suspension of the rules" process, would require a two-thirds majority, meaning substantial Democratic backing would be necessary.
Democrats have signaled support for reopening DHS through the Senate bill but remain opposed to additional ICE and CBP funding without what they describe as "significant" immigration reforms. That impasse has raised concerns among Republicans about violating the informal "Hastert rule," which discourages bringing legislation to the floor without majority GOP support.
Some conservatives have taken their objections public. Representative Scott Perry wrote on X that "caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again. If that's the vote, I'm a NO."
The legislative timeline further complicates the standoff. Both chambers of Congress have entered recess until mid-April, and leadership has indicated there are no immediate plans to reconvene members early to address the funding gap. In the interim, the administration has taken limited steps to mitigate operational disruptions.
Trump said he would sign a measure ensuring that DHS personnel continue receiving pay during the shutdown, extending prior actions that maintained compensation for TSA officers and certain enforcement personnel. Those measures, however, do not resolve the broader budgetary dispute or restore full agency operations.
Republicans are simultaneously preparing a reconciliation package that could include:
- Funding for ICE removal operations and CBP enforcement
- Additional border security measures
- Potential policy provisions tied to immigration and federal spending
Senate Minority Leader John Thune indicated that the reconciliation bill would likely need to remain narrowly focused. He told reporters Republicans were "singularly focused ... around the things we have to do on the border, on ICE and CBP," warning that expanding the bill could introduce procedural hurdles and delay passage.
