Senate Republicans Do What They Refused to Do for A Month: Fund TSA

After more than 40 days of back-and-forth, Senate Republicans accepted the proposal Democrats have been offering for weeks to fund all parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The Senate passed the bill around 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning with a voice vote. Only five senators were present on the Senate floor. Following the passage, the Senate recessed for its two-week Easter break.

Before Friday, Democrats in both chambers have repeatedly tried to get Republicans on board with a bill that would fund all agencies under the DHS umbrella, except ICE and CBP. That would mean funding TSA, the Secret Service, FEMA and the Coast Guard, agencies not implicated in DHS’ lawless rampages through American cities in recent months, resulting in the deaths of two American citizens in Minneapolis early this year. 

The urgency to pass Democrats’ bill increased as TSA went unpaid, leading to hours-long lines at airport security and the dozens of TSA agents who resigned from their job across the country. Those efforts were blocked until now.

With the passed bill, Democrats did not get a deal on any of the ICE reforms and constraints they have been demanding. The Senate-passed package includes some provisions that both sides agreed to back in January, including $20 million for body cameras for immigration enforcement agents.

The negotiations could continue. Republicans have begun work on a second reconciliation bill that they could use to fund CBP and ICE. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) last night poured cold water on the possibility of further negotiations.

“That ship has sailed. They kissed that opportunity goodbye by failing to provide funding for those agencies,” Thune said per Punchbowl.

In fact some Senate Republicans are indicating they will be prioritizing ICE funding even more in the second reconciliation package they are hoping to complete.

“What’s coming next will supercharge deportations,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) said Friday morning, according to Politico. “The filibuster cannot save you.”

Meanwhile, Democrats are touting the fact that they held the line and stayed united in not giving any more money to ICE and CBP without meaningful reforms.

“Senate Democrats were clear: no blank check for a lawless ICE and Border Patrol,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Friday. “Democrats held firm in our opposition that Donald Trump’s rogue and deadly militia should not get more funding without serious reforms.”

In the meantime, ICE and CBP can continue to operate, as they have been, with the billions of dollars they have received in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

The Senate-passed bill will now head to the House. It is unclear if the House Republican caucus will be able to get together behind this deal. Not all of its members will be happy about funding DHS absent ICE and CBP money.

Senate Republicans’ vote came shortly after President Donald Trump announced Thursday night that he will be instructing DHS to pay TSA agents, who have missed paychecks during the shutdown. Agents were due to miss another paycheck at the end of this week. 

The Senate deal comes after negotiations to restore funding to DHS picked up significantly this week, with Senate Republicans saying they sent their “last and final offer” to Senate Democrats on Thursday. The Republican proposal reportedly would have funded all of DHS except ICE’s enforcement and removal operations.

Democrats were not happy with the GOP’s proposal as it included funding for Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol — two other entities involved in the abuses which Democrats have vowed to stand against.