The Senate voted early Friday to approve funding for all agencies under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) other than Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), marking the first step toward ending the now 41-day partial government shutdown — and handing Democrats a victory.
“Throughout it all, Senate Democrats stood united — no wavering, no backing down,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, according to a report Friday from Punchbowl News. “We held the line.”
The partial government shutdown began in February after Democratic lawmakers refused to fund DHS with major reforms to ICE and CBP in the wake of the agencies’ often violent immigration enforcement operations across the country. Republican lawmakers held firm, leading to a funding lapse for DHS that has sparked chaos at airports nationwide.
Democrats had since put forward a proposal to fund all DHS agencies except for ICE and CBP, a plan that Republicans initially rejected. In the wake of increased staffing shortages at airports, leading to chaotically long security lines, it appears Senate Republicans – and even President Donald Trump, per Punchbowl News’ reporting – have ultimately come around to the idea.
The DHS funding bill passed in what was mostly an empty chamber at 3 a.m. EST Friday, and now heads to the House. Punchbowl News reported that the funding bill is expected to be voted on by the House either Friday or Saturday after which, if it passes without any major amendments, it would be sent to Trump’s desk for final approval.