Republicans scored a tactical win this week, using the party-line budget reconciliation process to lock in three years of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol — but that doesn't mean they averted chances of a government shutdown.
The immigration funding maneuver removed one flashpoint from the government funding debate through September 2029, but lawmakers in both parties say the move has done little to improve — and may have worsened — the odds of avoiding a broader government shutdown when the Sept. 30 deadline arrives, reported Politico.
“It’s not helpful for sure,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator. “It makes it very difficult for us moving forward.”
The shutdown deadline lands just weeks before midterm elections that will decide control of both the House and Senate — a dynamic that gives both parties reason to hold firm rather than compromise. Some Republicans believe Democrats will deliberately block a stopgap funding bill, betting that a shutdown plays better for them politically heading into November.
Democrats, meanwhile, say they intend to use the annual appropriations process to challenge immigration enforcement policy through other avenues, including the broader Department of Homeland Security funding bill.
Even the Republican who championed the immigration funding fix acknowledged the larger problem remains unsolved.
“Does it mean that we avoid a shutdown in that area? Takes care of that,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). “But how many other accounts do we have that we could have another kerfuffle, and all of a sudden we now have leverage, because we tried it once — and we pulled the trigger.”
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) stated bluntly that the tactic would not be repeated, but the structural reality hasn't changed: with razor-thin majorities in both chambers, any government funding bill will ultimately require bipartisan support to pass.
As Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR) put it, anyone who thinks otherwise "is just simply not being intellectually honest."
“I just hope we’re not seriously talking about a potential shutdown again,” Womack added. “We touched that stove once. It was pretty hot.”
