Senate Republicans Pass DHS Funding Deal After 47-Day Standoff; Democrats Received No Major Reforms
After nearly seven weeks of a partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown, Senate Republicans approved a bipartisan deal funding the entire department except for immigration enforcement components, with ICE and CBP to be funded later through a reconciliation bill bypassing the filibuster.
Key Points
- DHS partial shutdown lasted nearly 7 weeks (47 days)
- Deal funds all of DHS except ICE and CBP, which will be funded through reconciliation
- Democrats got zero of the core reforms they demanded
- Plan could make DHS shutdown-proof for rest of Trump administration
Full Details
Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced the deal Wednesday, effectively advancing the Senate Republican plan that the GOP-led House had rejected the previous week. Democrats had leveraged the 60-vote filibuster to block funding for the immigration wing of DHS until Republicans agreed to dramatic reforms to ICE and CBP, including body-camera requirements and changes to detention practices. While Republicans agreed to deploy body cameras to immigration enforcement officers, President Trump fired former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and the administration wound down Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, the GOP never agreed to the core reforms Democrats demanded. The new approach would make DHS 'shutdown-proof' for the remainder of the Trump administration by funding immigration enforcement through a party-line reconciliation bill that cannot be filibustered.
Why It Matters
This deal marks a significant shift in how DHS funding will be handled, potentially setting a precedent for future funding battles by using reconciliation to bypass Democratic opposition on immigration enforcement funding.
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