Senate Advances DHS Funding as Trump Vows to Pay All Employees

The Senate took a key step Thursday toward ending the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as President Donald Trump pledged to sign an order to pay all DHS employees. The shutdown, now over 40 days old, has left thousands of essential workers without pay despite their continued service.

Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that he would “soon sign an order to pay ALL of the incredible employees at the Department of Homeland Security,” adding that their families have “suffered far too long” and that “help is on the way.” However, the White House did not immediately clarify the source of the funds for this payment.

Some DHS employees, including those at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and active-duty Coast Guard members, have continued to receive paychecks. Trump had previously signed an executive order to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents amid the shutdown, which began causing significant delays at airports nationwide. Yet thousands of other essential workers, such as civilian Coast Guard personnel, Federal Emergency Management Agency staff, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency employees, have been working without pay.

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved forward with a bipartisan Senate plan that would fund nearly all of DHS except ICE and parts of CBP. The Senate sent this measure to the House, but the House did not act on it during a brief pro forma session, leaving the shutdown in place until at least Monday. Most lawmakers are currently on recess until the week of April 13.

Democrats have opposed funding ICE and CBP without reforms, especially following two deadly shootings involving federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this year. After negotiations over ICE reforms stalled, the Senate chose to fund the majority of DHS while excluding the immigration enforcement agencies.

The House, however, rejected the Senate’s approach amid conservative opposition. Speaker Mike Johnson instead proposed a temporary measure to fund the entire DHS but left for recess without advancing it. On Wednesday, Trump urged lawmakers to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the reconciliation process, which allows Republicans to pass legislation without Democratic support.

Following Trump’s call, Thune and Johnson announced plans to pursue three-year funding for ICE and CBP via reconciliation while working to approve funding for the rest of DHS in the near term. Thune told reporters Thursday that while he was unsure of the House’s plan, he hoped they would eventually pass the Senate bill, with the reconciliation bill to follow.

“There are just limited options,” Thune said. “You have to figure out what’s in the realm of the possible and you have to just continue to define reality for people, what’s achievable in the Senate, what we can get done.”

Thune emphasized that Republicans intend to keep the reconciliation bill narrowly focused on funding ICE and CBP to expedite its passage, avoiding additional priorities like the SAVE America Act or an Iran supplemental. “Our theory of the case behind all this was to keep that thing as narrow and focused as possible,” he said, adding that this approach would maximize speed and support.

Trump thanked GOP leaders in his Truth Social post, stating that the party is “UNIFIED” and moving forward on a plan to restore funding for Border Patrol and Immigration Enforcement officers. The Senate aims to complete the reconciliation bill by June 1, with Thune promising the chamber will “hop on it right away.”