House approves bill to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and end the record shutdown

The Department of Homeland Security logo during a news conference in Washington, Feb. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

WASHINGTON — After weeks of delay, the House voted Thursday to fund much of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but not its immigration enforcement operations, and send the bipartisan package to U.S. President Donald Trump to sign, ending the longest agency shutdown in history.

The White House had warned that temporary funding Trump had tapped to pay U.S. Transportation Security Administration and other agency personnel would “soon run out,” and that sparked new threats of airport disruptions.

DHS has been without routine funds since Feb. 14, causing hardship for workers, though much of Trump’s immigration agenda that is central to the dispute is being funded separately.

“It is about damn time,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, who proposed the bill more than 70 days ago.

The House swiftly voted by voice, without a formal roll call, to pass the measure. It was an abrupt end to the standoff that began months ago, after Trump’s deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis launched a reckoning on Capitol Hill over the money being sent to fuel the president’s agenda.

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Trump’s deportation strategy fueled the dispute

Democrats refused to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol without changes to those operations after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents during protests against the immigration actions in Minneapolis. Republicans would not go along with a plan pushed by Democrats to fund TSA and the other parts of DHS without the money for ICE and Border Patrol.

While the Senate unanimously approved the bipartisan package a month ago, the bill languished in the House.

Johnson, R-La., himself had just last month called the bill a “joke.”

To break the impasse, Republicans in both the House and Senate decided to tackle the immigration enforcement funding on their own through what is called budget reconciliation, a cumbersome weekslong process ahead.

By beginning that budget process Johnson was able to unlock a broader bipartisan bill for TSA agents and the rest of DHS. House Republicans late Wednesday adopted a budget resolution on a largely party-line vote, 215-211, that is focused on eventually providing US$70 billion for immigration enforcement and deportations for the remainder of Trump’s time in office and ensuring Democrats can no longer block funding. Trump’s term ends in January 2029.

Johnson acknowledged after the vote that he had trashed the bill before. But he said that with the new budget process for funding immigration enforcement on its own, he was ready to pass it “with no crazy Democrat reforms.”

One key Republican, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, said isolating the immigration-related money on a separate track is “offensive to the men and women who serve in ICE and Border Patrol, and are serving this country every single day.”

• READ MORE: U.S. Homeland Security shutdown will likely stretch into next week as House weighs Senate’s funding plan
• READ MORE: Airport disruptions abound as U.S. senators chase deal to end Homeland Security budget standoff

White House warning

The White House urged Congress this week to act, warning that the money Trump tapped to temporarily pay TSA and other workers through executive actions was drying up.

“DHS will soon run out of critical operating funds, placing essential personnel and operations at risk,” said a memo Tuesday from the Office of Management and Budget. Most of its employees are considered essential and have remained on the job.

• READ MORE: Trump signs executive action to pay TSA employees after Congress fails to agree on DHS funding
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Paycheques at risk again

Immigration enforcement workers have largely been paid through the flush of new cash — some US$170 billion — that Congress approved as part of Trump’s tax cuts bill last year. Others, including at the TSA, have had to rely on Trump’s intervention through executive action to ensure their paychecks.

But with salaries topping US$1.6 billion every two weeks, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said recently, those funds were dwindling.

More than 1,000 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began, according to Airlines for America, the U.S. airlines trade group that on Wednesday called on Congress to fully fund the Cabinet department.

“The urgency to provide predictable and stable funding for TSA is growing stronger by the day,” the group said in a statement. “Time and time again, our nation’s aviation workers and customers have been the victim of Congress’ failure to do their jobs.”

• READ MORE: Democrats, White House narrow in on tentative spending deal that would avert government shutdown
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Complicated budget strategy ahead

The go-it-alone strategy under the budget resolution process is the same that was used last year to approve Trump’s tax cuts bill, which all Democrats opposed.

With the budget resolution now adopted by the House and Senate, lawmakers will next draft the actual US$70 billion ICE and Border Patrol funding bill, with voting expected in May.

Trump has said he wants it on his desk by June 1.

• READ MORE: U.S. Senate confirms Markwayne Mullin to lead Homeland Security as TSA standoff deepens
• READ MORE: Trump signs bill to end partial government shutdown, setting stage for next fight

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Associated Press writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

Lisa Mascaro, The Associated Press