Republicans adopt new strategy for funding Homeland Security
AP News • • nation
Key Points:
- Republicans in Congress are advancing a partisan strategy to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), focusing on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), bypassing Democrats who demand immigration enforcement reforms.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune aims to pass a narrow funding bill through budget reconciliation, requiring only a simple majority in the Senate, but faces challenges from Republicans who want to add unrelated priorities.
- Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, continue to insist on reforms to ICE and Border Patrol, opposing funding without safeguards and accountability measures.
- The DHS has been shut down since mid-February due to disagreements over immigration enforcement funding, with previous bipartisan efforts failing and executive orders temporarily funding some salaries.
- Republican leaders plan to fund ICE and CBP for three years via budget reconciliation to avoid future shutdowns, but the process remains complicated amid internal GOP divisions and an upcoming election.
