House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced a joint strategy Wednesday to end the nation’s longest partial government shutdown, signaling a shift in tactics to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The plan arrives as the shutdown enters its 47th day, surpassing all previous records and leaving thousands of federal workers, including TSA agents, without pay during an ongoing international armed conflict.
The new approach involves a “two-parallel track” system designed to reopen the department while bypassing Democratic resistance on border policy.
Under the plan, the House will pass a Senate-approved bill to fund non-immigration agencies within DHS—such as the Coast Guard, FEMA, and the TSA—which have been hit hard by the six-week impasse.
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Speaker Johnson had previously dismissed this specific legislative path as a “joke” and a “gambit” as recently as Friday, but stated Wednesday that the move is now necessary to “take the safety of the American public” off the bargaining table.
To address the remaining agencies, Republicans intend to use the reconciliation process—a procedural move that allows for a simple majority vote in the Senate—to specifically fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Johnson and Thune noted this strategy follows a direct mandate from President Donald Trump to ensure law enforcement is “funded for the balance of the Trump Administration” and insulated from future “defunding” attempts.
In a statement on Truth Social, President Trump backed the maneuver, setting a firm deadline for the final funding package.
“I am asking that the Bill be on my desk NO LATER than June 1st,” the President wrote. He emphasized that while legislative work continues, the administration is currently utilizing funds from “The Great Big Beautiful Bill”—the 2026 tax legislation providing national rebates—to ensure ICE and Border Patrol agents receive their paychecks “on time and in full” during the interim.
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The shift in strategy has already drawn internal fire from some conservative corners. Representative Keith Self of Texas criticized the decision to separate immigration enforcement from general DHS funding, arguing on X that the move could leave border agents vulnerable to being “defunded and dismantled” by political opponents.
Despite the internal friction, GOP leadership remains focused on the midterms, with Trump asserting that the two-track plan allows Republicans to “do this without the Democrats.”
The Senate had already cleared the initial funding bill at 2:18 a.m. Friday morning in a nearly empty chamber just before the Easter recess, setting the stage for the House to act when it returns to session.
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