GOP Plan to Fund DHS Gets Test Vote    04/02 06:07

   The Senate is expected to try quickly passing a measure Thursday that would 
fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, though it's unclear how soon 
the House will follow to largely end the longest partial government shutdown in 
history.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate is expected to try quickly passing a measure 
Thursday that would fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, though 
it's unclear how soon the House will follow to largely end the longest partial 
government shutdown in history.

   House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced a 
plan Wednesday to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security as part of a 
two-step process. The agreement puts the leaders on the same page for ending 
the impasse after they pursued separate plans that resulted in Congress leaving 
Washington last week without a fix.

   Johnson and Thune announced a return to the bipartisan Senate plan worked 
out with Democrats that funds most of the department, with the exception of 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. Republicans 
would then try later to fund those agencies on their own through party-line 
spending legislation that could take months to finish.

   Neither outcome is guaranteed, and the strategy could potentially still face 
opposition from the GOP's own ranks even though President Donald Trump has 
given his support.

   "We appreciate and share the President's determination to once and for all 
bring an end to the Democrat DHS shutdown," said Johnson, R-La., and Thune, 
R-S.D.

   House Republicans refused to go along with the Senate plan last week 
excluding ICE and Border Patrol, instead changing the bill to fund all of DHS 
for 60 days.

   The DHS shutdown reached its 47th day on Wednesday. Senate Democratic leader 
Chuck Schumer said in a statement, "Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan 
agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction."

   The two top Republicans hope to win over skeptical GOP colleagues, but the 
most conservative lawmakers are likely to seek full funding for all of Trump's 
immigration and deportation operations.

   "Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is 
agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again," 
Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., posted on X. "If that's the vote, I'm a NO."

   The Senate meets for an early pro-forma session Thursday. Those generally 
last just a few minutes as the vast majority of senators are not present. 
Senators could take up the measure they passed just last week through a 
unanimous consent request, allowing it to pass if no senator objects. The 
Senate's action would then send the bill back to the House, which is also 
holding a pro-forma session later in the morning.

   Meanwhile, the narrow budget package that Trump wants prepared for later 
this year is expected to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the remainder of 
Trump's term, as a way to try to ensure those agencies are no longer at risk 
from Democrats objecting to the president's immigration enforcement agenda. 
Trump said he wants that legislation on his desk by June 1.

   "We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish 
funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won't be 
able to stop us," Trump said.

   House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries released a statement after Johnson 
and Thune sent out their announcement, saying, "It's time to pay TSA agents, 
end the airport chaos and fully fund every part of the Department of Homeland 
Security that does not relate to Donald Trump's violent mass deportation 
machine."

   The vast majority of Homeland Security workers continue to report to work 
during the shutdown, but many thousands have been going without pay. That led 
to more Transportation Security Administration agents calling out from work, 
causing frustrating security lines at some of the nation's biggest airports. 
Those bottlenecks appeared to be clearing this week as agents began receiving 
backpay, per an executive order from Trump.