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This story never ends.
The government is still not fully funded for the rest of the fiscal year, meaning Sept. 30.
Yes. The House and Senate approved a bipartisan bill funding most of the Department of Homeland Security in late April. It’s similar to what the Senate approved unilaterally in late March. But the House never took it up until just before a recent congressional recess.
Now the GOP is trying to go around Democrats and pass a three-year bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol. Democrats never secured reforms at ICE. So, they aren’t willing to help out. That’s why Republicans are using a special process called budget reconciliation to bypass Democrats.
RELATED: REPUBLICANS QUESTION TRUMP BALLROOM FUNDING IN DHS BILL
President Trump holds a design of a proposed presidential ballroom at the White House. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg)
The only hitch is that it takes a while. The goal is to pass this bill by June 1.
Republican Congressional leaders initially wanted to make this bill rather spare, just funding ICE and Border Patrol. But they expanded that measure to include $1 billion for President Trump’s ballroom security after the recent assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
So, Democrats are launching a blitz about the ballroom.
“Republicans say let them eat cake and demand American taxpayers build Trump a palace while they’re at it,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “These ‘ballroom Republicans’ have a constituency of one: Donald Trump’s ego.”
“The president just plowed down the East Wing of the White House. And it sits there as a gaping hole waiting to be filled. It was going to be his billionaire buddies filling it. Now it’s the American taxpayers,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., complained.
Senate Republican leaders initially insisted the latest funding bill only stick to funding Border Patrol and ICE.
“While my personal preference is to put as much as you possibly can in this reconciliation vehicle, there may only be an appetite for Border Patrol or ICE,” said Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C.
But the decision by GOP leaders to shove $1 billion into the bill opens the floor for other Republicans to stuff additional priorities into this budget reconciliation measure.
“I’d love to see the SAVE Act in some form or fashion,” Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, told Fox, referring to the bill which requires proof of citizenship to vote.
“There are a lot of good conservative wins that we can put forth for the American people,” Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told Fox Business.
Some pro-life Republicans are pushing an extension of a ban on money for Planned Parenthood. The prohibition expires later this year.
“It’s been a very thorny issue. It’s all under negotiation right now,” said President Trump.
Meantime, Republicans accuse Democrats of returning to their mantra to defund the police as they fight Border Patrol and ICE funding. Democrats remain opposed because they never secured the safeguards they wanted for ICE after what happened this winter in Minnesota.
“My Democrat colleagues refused to provide a single dollar for the men and women who protect our borders,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as Democrats criticize a DHS funding proposal. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo)
Efforts to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security emerged as a flashpoint in recent years. There are too many controversial policy areas fused together under one federal roof. That’s why there’s now a bipartisan plan to permanently split up DHS.
“It’s just become too big. It’s become too bureaucratic,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., one of the chief sponsors of the bill.
The legislation would make the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) its own Cabinet-level department. The Secret Service would report directly to the president. And the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) would head to the Department of Transportation.
Consider the consternation by travelers with the government not paying TSA during the 43-day comprehensive government shutdown. The same thing happened over the winter and into the spring as DHS remained unfunded.
Moskowitz believes his legislation would curb some government shutdowns. And it would shield tourists from fiscal fallout.
“The American people’s travel cannot be held up in the political dysfunction of Washington,” said Moskowitz.
But that debate is for another day. The immediate question is whether the Republican-led House and Senate can advance the package to finish off funding for ICE and CBP.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran met with Senate Republicans over lunch Tuesday to defend the $1 billion request.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was skeptical after she emerged from the meeting, noting that the administration needed to provide “justifications” and “details,” not “just top lines.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., defends a DHS funding proposal on Capitol Hill. (Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., defended the spending request.
“You’ve got a president with three assassination attempts just in the last two years. And obviously the money that’s in there is about securing the building. And the Secret Service has a job to protect the president. We need to make sure they have the tools to do it,” said Thune.
After the meeting, Thune said Curran “did a very good job of laying it out and developing the case for why these resources need to be used.”
Other lawmakers need to hear more.
House lawmakers sit in the chamber on Capitol Hill. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“I don’t know if they’re talking about infrastructure dollars or other kind of technology,” said Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio. “I need to see the details before I pass judgment on whether or not the request is reasonable.”
Remember that Republicans want to support the president. But they also don’t want anything attached which will hold up ICE and Border Patrol funding. Especially this late in the game.
“Members are diving in a little bit. They want to understand how much of this is really related to security,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D. “Obviously, we have to keep the president and his guests safe.
“But when you’re talking about $1 billion, members are going to ask a lot of questions. They’re digging into details. I don’t think we know exactly how this shakes out yet.”
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Here’s what we do know: The Senate Budget Committee won’t meet until late next week to prep its version of the bill – regardless of what’s in or out of it.
The Senate must then conduct a “vote-a-rama” which goes around the clock to adopt the measure. Then, whatever the Senate adopts goes to the House.
This won’t play out until the final days of next week, just before the Memorial Day recess. President Trump established June 1 as a deadline for finishing this bill.
The House just adjusted its schedule for next week. The House won’t meet for votes until Wednesday, May 20. That means there’s a chance the House may need to hang around Washington for part of Memorial Day weekend to pass the bill. The House and Senate are both scheduled to be out of session for Memorial Day week.
If lawmakers pass this bill, the fight over all government funding for fiscal year 2026 will finally conclude. That’s 16 months after House and Senate committees were hearing testimony from cabinet departments and agencies about what they needed for last fall.
RELATED: SENATE TAKES MAJOR FIRST STEP TO PREVENT FUTURE SHUTDOWNS WITH PAINFUL ACCOUNTABILITY PLAY
And yet this story continues.
Even if they pass this final tranche of funding for DHS, lawmakers have to start again on the spending hamster wheel for this fall. Otherwise, there’s another government shutdown Oct. 1.
