They said in a joint statement that “in the coming days” Republicans in Congress will pursue a two-track approach. The first track returns to the Senate plan to fund most of the department, with the exception of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. On the second track, Republicans would try later to fund those agencies through party-line spending legislation.
Neither outcome is guaranteed, and the strategy could potentially still face opposition from the GOP’s own ranks even though President 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.
The plan represents a do-over of what senators had in mind when they passed a bipartisan funding agreement through unanimous consent last Friday. The Senate could approve that same legislation again as soon as Thursday morning, but even if that happens, it's unclear how quickly the bill could move through the House. It will likely take several months for Republicans to act on the second part of Trump's plan and pass budgeting legislation to fund ICE and Border Patrol.
House Republicans refused to go along with the Senate last week, instead changing the bill to fund all of DHS for 60 days.
As a result, the shutdown continued as lawmakers left for their home states and congressional districts for a two-week recess. The DHS shutdown reached its 47th day on Wednesday.
