In a move to stabilize national security operations, House Republicans on Thursday pushed through a funding package for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ending a record-breaking administrative shutdown.
The measure, which now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk, restores pay for essential personnel while pointedly omitting new funding for the administration’s specific immigration enforcement operations that had been a focal point of recent budget debates.
The vote comes as a relief to the White House, which had signaled that temporary funds used to keep TSA agents and border security staff on the job were “soon to run out.”
Failure to act would have triggered significant disruptions at U.S. airports, an outcome both parties were eager to avoid.
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Since Feb. 14, the DHS has functioned without a routine budget, placing a heavy burden on front-line workers even as the core pillars of the President’s immigration agenda remained active through separate, secured funding streams.
Democratic leadership expressed relief at the resolution, though they remained critical of the long road to passage.
“It is about damn time,” stated Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, had proposed the framework for the bill over two months ago.
The legislation’s path through the House was complicated by a narrow Republican majority and internal debates over fiscal responsibility.
Speaker Mike Johnson faced the difficult task of balancing the demands of his caucus, which has been locked in discussions regarding the scope of federal spending.
While the Senate had cleared the bipartisan deal with a unanimous vote a month ago, House leadership took additional time to review the package’s impact before moving to a voice vote on Thursday.
By opting for a voice vote rather than a formal roll call, the House ensured a swift conclusion to the standoff, successfully averting further agency instability.
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