U.S. House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate deal to temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and instead passed their own funding measure late Friday, prolonging a budget standoff that has disrupted air travel.
Funding Standoff Continues
The stopgap bill, which proposes full funding for the DHS for eight weeks, passed by a vote of 213 to 203. Republicans in the House refused to consider the Senate-passed deal, which excluded funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the border patrol.
The move extends a situation that has left thousands of airport security staff working without pay, although the White House said Donald Trump ordered that the personnel finally be compensated. TSA officers should begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday, March 30, according to the DHS.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer stated that the House funding measure “is dead on arrival in the Senate, and Republicans know it.” He added that Democrats will fund homeland security functions but will not provide a “blank check” to what they consider Trump’s “lawless and deadly immigration militia without reforms.”
House Republicans Criticize Senate Bill
House Speaker Mike Johnson called the earlier bipartisan Senate bill a “joke” for withholding money from agencies responsible for carrying out Trump’s deportation policies. House Republicans introduced legislation to fully fund the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), immigration agents, and border patrol personnel.
Both chambers of Congress must pass the same version of a bill before it can be sent to the president for approval. The Senate is currently on a two-week break, and the House began its own break Friday, potentially exacerbating the difficulties for air travelers and TSA workers.
The political fight has strained TSA services, with nearly 500 transportation security officers having resigned and unscheduled absences surging since the partial shutdown began in mid-February. At Houston’s international airport, security lines were significantly delayed, and staff distributed water to passengers, according to an Agence France-Presse reporter.
Dispute Centers on ICE Reforms
The funding dispute centers on Democratic demands for reforms to ICE, which has faced criticism for its tactics. The Senate had voted to fund the DHS, excluding ICE and the border patrol, through 2026. This bill would have provided funding for the TSA, the US Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The lack of ICE or border patrol funding would not have halted operations, as Congress previously allocated substantial extra funding to both agencies in 2025. Trump reportedly spoke with Johnson and expressed his support for the House’s approach.
Trump previously indicated he would not sign a funding deal unless Congress also passed a bill to overhaul voter registration procedures. Republicans hold majorities in both chambers, but Senate rules require a certain number of Democratic votes to pass budget bills.
Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said his party is seeking a House vote on the Senate’s bipartisan measure.
Discover more from Archyworldys
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
