The House failed to vote Thursday morning on a bipartisan plan unanimously passed by the Senate last week to reopen most components of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while omitting funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection.
The House rejected the Senate plan last Friday, seeking full funding for DHS. However, the Senate sent its plan back to the House Thursday morning after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed to an approach that would fund ICE and the Border Patrol through the budget reconciliation process.
The legislative action follows a hard deadline set by President Donald Trump on Wednesday for Republicans to fund DHS immigration enforcement components by June 1.
On Wednesday, Johnson and Thune issued a joint statement stating that, “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.”
No action was taken to pass the Senate bill after it was sent back to the House for another vote Thursday morning, continuing the longest partial shutdown in history.
The shutdown began on Feb. 14 after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on DHS appropriations. Negotiations have remained stalled over disputes tied to immigration enforcement policy.
It is unclear whether further action will be taken to reopen DHS until mid-April. The House is scheduled to hold a ceremonial session on Monday but otherwise won’t return in full until April 13.
While Trump ordered that Transportation Security Administration employees be paid, employees at other DHS components such as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency are working without pay.
At CISA, more than a third of its workforce is still working without compensation, and the agency has seen multiple departures during the shutdown, Acting Director Nick Andersen told Congress last week.