The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is still not fully funded 10 days before President Donald Trump's June 1 deadline despite ongoing efforts in both houses of Congress.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pulled the plug on further tries to hold a floor vote on Thursday, after the conference was unable to agree on the bill's provisions, sending everyone on an early recess, as my colleague at sister site Townhall, Matt Vespa, wrote earlier:
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is quitting on the reconciliation package that would fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down by Democratic Party antics since Presidents’ Day weekend. Senate Republicans hesitated with Democrats, thinking they could negotiate a deal when we all knew that was never going to happen—their base wouldn’t allow it. Now, we’ve tried to get DHS funded for years through reconciliation, but it’s hit a snag, especially because the Senate Parliamentarian ordered some parts to be reworked.
🚨 IT'S OFFICIAL: Senate Republicans will now MISS President Trump's June 1 deadline to pass ICE and CBP funding, as John Thune decides to RECESS the Senate until NEXT MONTH
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 21, 2026
Thune is a FAILURE.
President Trump is NOT going to be happy about this. Time to remove Thune! pic.twitter.com/EhX6CrAZOO
IT'S OFFICIAL: Senate Republicans will now MISS President Trump's June 1 deadline to pass ICE and CBP funding, as John Thune decides to RECESS the Senate until NEXT MONTH
Thune is a FAILURE.
President Trump is NOT going to be happy about this. Time to remove Thune!
This comes after GOP leadership promised passage of legislation on DHS would happen through reconciliation (i.e. only Senate Republican votes) many weeks ago. And they're now taking off on a week-long vacation, leaving the deadline put in place by Pres. Trump to expire.
Vespa added that some of the "fallout" is being blamed on Trump's continuing to weed out establishment types during the GOP primaries, namely by endorsing Texas AG Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) this week in the Senate race, and Louisiana's Sen. Bill Cassidy failing to win out as Republican standard-bearer in the midterms on Saturday - "necessary," as my colleague noted, writing that "the story is that the DOJ’s anti-weaponization fund was the reason."
BREAKING: Senate GOP and WH cannot agree on bill to fund ICE, CBP, security amidst sharp divide over Trump’s ballroom and “weaponization fund”.
— Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) May 21, 2026
Senators tell me the bill “still needs work”.
RedState wrote on that new move by the administration's setting up the over $1.7B settlement fund, meant to compensate anyone reportedly harmed by the Biden administration's Justice Department, on Monday.
As my colleague Jennifer Van Laar wrote on Mar. 29 about the Congressional budget effort, there were then two competing funding bills in play:
There are competing DHS funding bills; the Senate bill passed early Friday morning, which excludes funding for ICE and some CBP operations, and the 60-day continuing resolution to fully fund DHS, which the House passed Friday night. Both bills would ensure that civilian & non-law enforcement support staff for ICE & CBP, who also weren't being paid during the shutdown and who weren't covered by President Trump's executive order to pay TSA workers, would be paid.
Van Laar added that luckily, Pres. Trump stepped in with an executive order to temporarily restore paychecks for beleaguered TSA workers:
Fortunately for everyone involved, President Trump's executive order to pay TSA worker salaries has taken away the Democrats' leverage, and if Republicans are smart, they'll use the reprieve to play hardball and get DHS fully funded.
Then one month ago today, on April 21, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced a bill in the Senate to fully-fund the department through 2029 - that is, the end of the president's second term.
Read More: The GOP Leadership Mess the DHS Funding Debacle Is Exposing, and Where We Go From Here
Senate GOP Powers Up Border Defense: Full Funding Locked for ICE & CBP Through 2029
The House then managed to pass a procedural vote in late Apr. on the funding, as I wrote.
This isn't just the failure of another budget resolution, though; Yes, it would fund DHS, but it also happens to have some Trump administration priorities; in addition to the anti-weaponization fund, it includes money to complete the WH ballroom addition. We'll have to wait until June now to see where things go.
This is a developing story. RedState will provide updates as warranted.
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