WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� said Thursday he will soon sign an order to pay all employees who have gone without paychecks during the that has reached 48 days.
Despite that unilateral move announced in a social media post, the funding lapse for some DHS needs is likely to stretch into next week as the House contemplates passing a Senate plan it had previously rejected to fund the bulk of the agency, though not its immigration enforcement operations.
Trump used a similar maneuver to resume pay for the Transportation Security Administration after many employees had called out from work, resulting in long delays at airport security lines for travelers. Trump’s latest intervention is expected to apply to other non-law enforcement employees at the department, including many employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard and the agency responsible for coordinating federal cybersecurity efforts.
Trump said their families 鈥渉ave suffered far too long.鈥�
鈥淣evertheless, help is on the way for our Brave and Patriotic Public Servants who have continued to work hard, and do their part to protect and defend our Country,鈥� Trump said.
There was no legislative resolution Thursday after both the House and Senate met for just a few minutes in pro forma sessions. Nonetheless, the Republican leadership and Trump have coalesced around a plan to as part of a two-step process. The agreement puts the congressional leaders on the same page for ending the impasse after they had pursued separate paths that resulted in Congress leaving Washington last week for its spring recess without a fix.
During the brief sessions, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., put aside the House plan to fund the entire department for 60 days. Then the House met briefly without taking up the bipartisan Senate plan that had been worked out with Democrats, though Thune is looking toward eventual passage.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know the particulars around what the House will do with it,鈥� Thune told reporters. 鈥淢y assumption is, at some point, hopefully, they鈥檒l move it.鈥�
Johnson’s about-face
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Thune, announced Wednesday that they would return to the Senate measure, which funds most of DHS with the exception of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. Republicans will try later to fund those agencies through party-line spending legislation that could take months to finish.
Neither outcome is guaranteed, and the strategy could potentially still face opposition from the GOP鈥檚 own ranks even though has given his support.
Johnson鈥檚 embrace of the two-track plan marks a sharp reversal from less than a week ago, when he derided it as a 鈥渏oke鈥� and said he was 鈥渜uite convinced that it can鈥檛 be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill.鈥�
Public backlash was swift after lawmakers left Washington last week without a resolution, with posting paparazzi-style photos of members at airports and out of town. The regularly scheduled break, while drawing criticism, is typically used by lawmakers to reconnect with constituents and travel abroad.
Johnson now appears to be on board. But securing support from his own conference could prove more difficult after a sizable group of House Republicans blasted the Senate-passed bill last week.
House Republicans held a conference call later Thursday to discuss the next steps. The GOP leadership indicated to lawmakers that it does no expect to recall them to Washington from the spring recess; they are due back April 14.
Lawmakers also heard from White House budget director Russ Vought. The White House is expected to release Trump鈥檚 2027 budget proposal on Friday.
Funding ICE and Border Patrol remains a hurdle
Democrats in both chambers were aligned last week with the Senate’s plan, and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York blamed House Republicans on Thursday for taking no action on it during the brief morning session.
鈥淭he deep division and dysfunction among House Republicans is needlessly extending the DHS shutdown and hurting federal workers who are missing another paycheck,鈥� Schumer said.
Johnson will look to persuade the most conservative lawmakers within his conference to go along with the two-step approach agreed upon with the president, and Trump’s latest social media post could help. The president thanked Thune and Johnson for their work, and sought to project Republican unity.
鈥淩epublicans are UNIFIED, and moving forward on a plan that will reload funding for our FANTASTIC Border Patrol and Immigration Enforcement Officers,鈥� Trump wrote.
Many in the GOP conference have taken the stand that ICE and the Border Patrol need to be included as part of any funding agreement.
鈥淟et鈥檚 make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again,鈥� Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., posted on X. 鈥淚f that鈥檚 the vote, I鈥檓 a NO.鈥�
Meanwhile, the budget package that Trump wants voted on by June 1 is expected to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the remainder of Trump鈥檚 term, as a way to try to ensure those agencies are no longer at risk from Democrats objecting to his immigration enforcement agenda.
Thune acknowledged the potential hurdles to that route, such as efforts to expand the scope of the bill. He said the goal is to keep it 鈥渁s narrow and focused as possible鈥� in order to pass it 鈥渨ith haste.鈥�
The vast majority of DHS employees have reported to work during the shutdown, but many thousands have gone without pay. As more Transportation Security Administration agents called out from work, there was increasing frustration for air travelers confronted by long waits at some airport security lines. Those bottlenecks appeared to be clearing this week as agents began receiving backpay after Trump signed an
About 10,000 FEMA workers are being paid because their wages come out of the non-lapsing Disaster Relief Fund. At least 4,000 FEMA employees are furloughed or currently working without pay.
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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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