The House on Thursday passed a bill to fund the bulk of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), minus Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a major step toward ending the record-breaking, 10-week shutdown. The bill passed by voice vote less than an hour after Republican leaders sent out a notice that the chamber would consider the legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) had held the bill for weeks, but came under increasing pressure to pass it from the White House, Senate, and Republican rank-and-file as funds to pay DHS staff dwindled. The bill passed the Senate last month and now goes to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. The bipartisan Senate DHS bill would fund the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Coast Guard, Secret Service, and other critical agencies through the end of the fiscal year on September 30th. Republicans are seeking to fund ICE and border enforcement for three years through reconciliation, which would allow Republicans to bypass a filibuster in the Senate. A blueprint for the “skinny” reconciliation bill to fund immigration enforcement passed a procedural hurdle in the House on Wednesday after a contentious vote that was held open for hours.
The Senate on Thursday passed a 45-day extension of the nation’s warrantless spy powers, rejecting a longer House-back proposal and teeing up continued debate over how to reform the program. In turning to a 45-day extension, the Senate rebuffed a House package passed Wednesday that included modest reforms but failed to include the warrant requirement demanded by privacy hawks on both sides of the aisle. The House will have to pass the Senate bill for the 45-day extension to begin and FISA is set to go dark on April 30. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the government to spy on foreigners located abroad. Critics want to add a warrant requirement before the government can look at communications from Americans swept up as they talk with foreign targets under surveillance. If the House adopts the Senate proposal, FISA will now be renewed through June 15th.
The Senate also passed S.Res. 690, an executive resolution authorizing the en bloc consideration in Executive Session of (49) certain nominations on the Executive Calendar in a 51-46 vote.
Earlier today, the House passed H.R. 7567 – Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 in a 224 to 200 vote.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
