It Never Ends: GOP Pushes Border Funding, Democrats Blast Trump Spending

This story never ends.

The government is still not fully funded for the remainder of the fiscal year, which is September 30.

Yes. The House and Senate approved a bipartisan bill funding most of the Department of Homeland Security in late April. This is similar to what the Senate unilaterally approved in late March. But the House never took up the issue until just before Congress’ recent recess.

Now the Republican Party is trying to bypass the Democrats and pass a three-year bill to fund ICE and the Border Patrol. Democrats have never achieved reforms to ICE. So they are not willing to help us. That’s why Republicans use a special process called budget reconciliation to get around Democrats.

President Trump outlines plans for a presidential ballroom at the White House. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg)

The only problem is that it takes time. The goal is to pass this bill by June 1.

House GOP pushes back on Senate’s ‘skinny’ plan to end record DHS shutdown

Republican congressional leaders initially wanted to make this bill rather restrained, funding only ICE and the Border Patrol. But they expanded that measure to include $1 billion for President Trump’s ballroom security after the recent assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

So the Democrats are launching a blitz against the ballroom.

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“Republicans are saying let them eat cake and demanding that American taxpayers build Trump a palace while they’re at it,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). “These ‘ballroom Republicans’ have only one group: Donald Trump’s ego.”

“The president just tore down the East Wing of the White House. And it sits there like a gaping hole waiting to be filled. It would be his billionaire friends who would fill it. Now it’s the American taxpayers,” complained Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois).

Senate Republican leaders initially insisted that the latest funding bill would be limited to funding Border Patrol and ICE.

“While my personal preference is to invest as much as possible in this reconciliation vehicle, there may only be an appetite for Border Patrol or ICE,” said Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.)

But Republican leaders’ decision to inject $1 billion into the bill clears the way for other Republicans to insert additional priorities into this budget reconciliation measure.

“I would love to see the SAVE Act in some form,” Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) said on Fox, referring to the bill that requires proof of citizenship to vote.

“There are a lot of good conservative victories that we can offer to the American people,” Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) said on Fox Business.

Some pro-life Republicans are pushing to expand the ban on giving money to Planned Parenthood. The ban expires later this year.

“It’s a very thorny issue. It’s all under negotiation right now,” President Trump said.

Meanwhile, Republicans are accusing Democrats of returning to their mantra of defunding the police while they fight against defunding the Border Patrol and ICE. Democrats remain opposed because they never got the guarantees they wanted for ICE after what happened this winter in Minnesota.

“My Democratic colleagues have refused to provide a single dollar to the men and women who protect our borders,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as Democrats criticize a DHS funding proposal. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo)

Efforts to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security have emerged as a flashpoint in recent years. There are too many controversial policy areas grouped under one federal roof. That’s why there is now a bipartisan plan to permanently divide DHS.

“It’s gotten too big. It’s gotten too bureaucratic,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), a lead sponsor of the bill.

The legislation would make the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) its own cabinet-level department. The Secret Service would report directly to the president. And the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) would head to the Department of Transportation.

Consider travelers’ dismay over the government’s failure to pay for the TSA during the 43-day complete government shutdown. The same thing happened over the winter and into the spring as DHS remained unfunded.

Moskowitz believes his legislation would help curb some government shutdowns. And it would protect tourists from tax fallout.

“The movement of the American people cannot be hampered by political dysfunction in Washington,” Moskowitz said.

But that debate is for another day. The immediate question is whether the Republican-led House and Senate can move forward on finalizing funding for ICE and CBP.

Secret Service Director Sean Curran met with Senate Republicans over lunch Tuesday to make the case for the $1 billion request.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was skeptical after leaving the meeting, emphasizing that the administration needed to provide “justification” and “details,” not just “guidelines.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) defends a DHS funding proposal on Capitol Hill. (Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) defended the spending request.

“You have a president who has made three assassination attempts in just the last two years. And obviously the money that’s in there is to secure the building. And the Secret Service is in the business of protecting the president. We need to make sure they have the tools to do that,” Thune said.

After the meeting, Thune said Curran “did a really good job presenting and elaborating on why these resources should be used.”

Other lawmakers need to hear more.

House lawmakers sit in the Capitol chamber. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“I don’t know if they’re talking about infrastructure dollars or other types of technology,” said Rep. Dave Taylor (R-Ohio). “I need to see the details before making a judgment on whether or not the request is reasonable.”

Remember, Republicans want to support the President. But they also don’t want anything attached that would delay funding for ICE and the Border Patrol. Especially this late in the game.

“Members are diving into it a little bit. They want to understand how much of this really relates to security,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.). “Obviously, we need to keep the president and his guests safe. But when you’re talking about a billion dollars, members are going to ask a lot of questions. They’re digging into the details. I don’t think we know yet exactly how this plays out.”

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Here’s what we know: The Senate Budget Committee won’t meet until the end of next week to prepare its version of the bill — no matter what’s in it or what’s excluded.

The Senate must then conduct a 24-hour “vote-a-rama” to pass the measure. Then whatever the Senate passes goes to the House.

This won’t happen until the final days of next week, just before the Memorial Day holiday. President Trump has set a June 1 deadline to finalize this bill.

The House has just adjusted its schedule for next week. The House will not meet to vote until next Wednesday, May 20. That means it’s possible the House will have to stay in Washington for part of Memorial Day weekend to pass the bill. Both the House and Senate are expected to be out of session during the week of Memorial Day.

If lawmakers pass this bill, the fight for all government funding for fiscal year 2026 will finally end. This comes sixteen months after House and Senate committees heard testimony from Cabinet departments and agencies on what they needed for last fall.

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And yet this story continues.

Even if they pass this final round of funding for DHS, lawmakers will have to start spending on the hamster wheel again for this fall. Otherwise, there will be another government shutdown on October 1st.