The US House of Representatives has voted to fund much of the Department of Homeland Security, ending the longest partial government agency shutdown in history. The record-breaking impasse, which lasted 75 days after DHS went without routine funds starting February 14, had threatened to throw airports into chaos due to potential missed paychecks for Transportation Security Administration workers.
The bipartisan measure provides funding for key agencies, including the Secret Service and the TSA. However, the legislation excludes funding for immigration enforcement operations, specifically leaving out Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. While much of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda is being funded separately, some Republicans have expressed dissatisfaction that ICE and Border Patrol were excluded from this package.
The House unanimously approved the Senate-passed bill on Thursday after weeks of delay and fighting over the budget. The tide turned Wednesday evening when a last-minute deal regarding unrelated ethanol fuel provisions flipped enough holdouts to push the resolution forward. House Speaker Mike Johnson worked to unite fractious Republicans behind the plan, overcoming previous insistence from GOP leaders that the bill contained technical problems.
The funding bill has now been sent to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature. Once signed into law, the legislation will restore funding to most of the sprawling federal agency and end the hardships faced by workers during the more than two-month shutdown.