Senate Republicans who’re scrambling to finish the two-month shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fear that Democrats will set off a good greater government shutdown in October and are figuring out methods to avert that politically disastrous situation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) plans to move a funds decision by means of the Senate this week that might function a blueprint for a funds reconciliation invoice Republicans are aiming to move later this spring. That measure would bypass a Senate Democratic filibuster to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol by means of 2029.
But there’s rising concern amongst GOP senators that even when Congress funds ICE and Border Patrol for the subsequent three and a half years, Democrats will provoke a combat in September to set off yet one more government shutdown.
The present shutdown of DHS is the longest in historical past, breaking the file set final fall when the government was shut down for 43 days over Democrats’ calls for to increase well being care subsidies.
Republicans say they’re anxious the common government funding course of has grow to be irreparably damaged after two bruising funding standoffs throughout President Trump’s second time period.
“I’m very concerned about the appropriations process,” Thune mentioned, predicting that Democrats won’t ever comply with fund ICE and Border Patrol whereas Trump is in workplace.
Other GOP lawmakers additionally suspect Democrats would embrace a battle over government funding, realizing that one other shutdown would inflict extra political ache on the occasion in cost of Congress and Washington.
“You can bet on it that that’s Chuck Schumer’s game plan, to shut the government down at every chance he gets,” mentioned Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who mentioned he favors passing no matter laws essential to keep away from yet one more government shutdown within the fall.
Democrats, to make certain, have repeatedly rejected accusations that they’re taking part in politics with government funding. Instead, they are saying, they’re utilizing some of the one leverage they’ve in a GOP-controlled Washington to attempt to advance in style priorities, reminiscent of extending ObamaCare subsidies or reforming immigration enforcement.
Still, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) predicted throughout an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) will discover another excuse to dam government funding in September.
“I will wager, right now, $100, that Schumer intends — on Oct. 1 — to do the same thing, to shut the whole federal government down for a month, so that on Election Day, the government is shut down, you have four-hour lines again in airports, and the Democrats can say, ‘See, the Republicans are in charge, they don’t know what they’re doing,’” he mentioned.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) mentioned he additionally thinks it’s possible that Democrats will drive one other government shutdown, seeing it because the “more chaos, the better” earlier than Election Day.
Thune mentioned Republican lawmakers are discussing methods to move competing proposals sponsored by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) to both require that important federal staff receives a commission throughout a shutdown or to routinely enact stopgap government funding measures to keep away from future shutdowns.
Senate Republicans mentioned these measures at a lunch assembly Tuesday afternoon.
Both Johnson and Lankford talked about their proposals, in response to an individual briefed on the inner dialogue.
“I’m for that, I think that’s a great idea,” Thune mentioned of laws to melt the impression of a government funding lapse.
“Anything that we can do that would ensure that the Democrats don’t decide once again to play partisan political games with the functioning of our government would be a good outcome,” Thune mentioned.
“We are seriously talking about what’s the best way to execute on ensuring that at least government employees continue to get paid in the middle of a government shutdown,” he added.
One concept floated has been to connect laws to stop or soften government shutdowns to the funds reconciliation bundle that Republicans plan to move within the subsequent a number of weeks. The laws would transfer on a procedural quick monitor, bypassing a Democratic filibuster.
But there are questions on whether or not the Senate parliamentarian would rule that government shutdown language complies with the chamber’s stringent Byrd Rule, which decides what’s allowed to move with a simple-majority vote under the reconciliation course of.
Thune mentioned there’s a “ton of support out there among all the labor unions” to enact laws to pay important federal staff throughout government shutdowns, however he questioned how the parliamentarian would rule.
The Senate voted 52-46 on Tuesday to proceed to the Senate funds decision, establishing a late-night sequence of votes on amendments to the measure for later this week.
Republican senators have additionally recommended that government shutdown laws might be connected to the invoice handed by the Senate earlier than Easter to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security aside from ICE and Border Patrol.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has refused to convey that Senate invoice up for a vote within the House, telling reporters Tuesday that he needs to attend till the Senate passes the funds reconciliation measure to fund ICE and Border Patrol for the subsequent three and a half years.
Johnson, the Wisconsin senator, has reached out to House colleagues, hoping that conservatives may really feel extra inclined to assist the Senate-passed Homeland Security appropriations invoice whether it is connected to laws that might stop one other government shutdown.
“What I’m suggesting … is talk to the House, say pass the Senate DHS funding bill and add to it Shutdown Fairness Act, send it back to the Senate,” Johnson mentioned. “The House is reluctant to pass the Senate [Homeland Security appropriations] bill. This would be an inducement to the House.”
Sen. Johnson has launched the Shutdown Fairness Act, which might be sure that federal staff who’re deemed important and required to work throughout a shutdown will obtain paychecks throughout that point.
The proposal would mandate that essential staff reminiscent of air site visitors controllers and Transportation Security Administration workers proceed to obtain paychecks even when government funding lapses.
It would alleviate the backlogs that snarled airports across the nation throughout final 12 months’s file 43-day government shutdown and this 12 months’s partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department.
Johnson mentioned his proposal has sturdy assist from federal staff’ unions and urged his Senate Democratic colleagues to again it as properly.
Lankford has launched a competing proposal, the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, which might routinely implement two-week government funding stopgaps if Congress fails to move its appropriations payments on time.
The laws would prohibit taxpayer-funded journey allowances when these automated persevering with resolutions are triggered to drive lawmakers to remain in Washington till the funding stalemate is resolved.
“We’re both trying to solve a problem,” Lankford mentioned, evaluating his and Johnson’s government shutdown payments. “His bill funds the pay [for federal workers], which is obviously extremely important. But the challenge is it doesn’t encourage us to then finish our work.”
Lankford mentioned members of the Senate Appropriations Committee favor his invoice as a result of it places stress on lawmakers to maintain working to move appropriations payments.
Under Lankford’s invoice, which has acquired previous assist from Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan (N.H.), lawmakers would “have to stay in session seven days a week and have to remain until we finish the appropriations work, and you can’t move to bills other than appropriations.”
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not printed, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
