Trump Blesses GOP Plan To End Shutdown — Without Democrats
President Donald Trump is urging Congress to use the budget reconciliation process in order to fund the Department of Homeland Security, a move that would allow Republicans to bypass the Senate filibuster.
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday that Republicans “are going forward” with a plan to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol that “doesn’t need Radical Left Democrat votes.”
“We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won’t be able to stop us,” Trump wrote. “We will not allow them to hurt the families of these Great Patriots by defunding them. I am asking that the Bill be on my desk NO LATER than June 1st.”
Budget reconciliation allows certain legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority, avoiding the 60-vote threshold typically required to overcome a filibuster. However, the process comes with strict rules that limit which provisions can be included.
Some Republicans have floated reconciliation as a path forward as negotiations over DHS funding remain stalled. Trump’s comments could bolster last week’s Senate-approved proposal, which did not include ICE and Border Patrol funding, as Trump noted how the reconciliation plan would be for those two agencies, Punchbowl News reported.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) told The Daily Wire that the approach could allow Congress to fund the agency without Democratic votes, though he also reiterated his support for eliminating the filibuster altogether. If the filibuster were scrapped for good, it would open the door for other legislation to go to Trump’s desk, such as the House-passed SAVE America Act.
“It doesn’t appear today we have the votes to get rid of the filibuster, but a year ago, we didn’t have the votes to change the rules on nominations,” Scott said, saying that he thinks Republicans are “gonna get there.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) floated the possibility of a “skinny reconciliation” proposal that could “move very quickly” in a Wednesday interview on CNBC, while Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) indicated a three-year funding bill for DHS could be in the works as well, according to Fox News.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and other Republicans have cautioned against eliminating the filibuster, warning it could open the door for Democrats to pass their agenda with a simple majority vote in the future.
“What’s happening on ICE and CBP is just showing you how radical the Left is, and these Democrat senators, they’re controlled by AOC and [New York City Mayor Zohran] Mamdani, and Chuck Schumer’s scared to death of them,” Sen. Scott said. “And so they’re playing to their far left base that hates this country. They don’t want Trump to have any success.”
The push comes as Congress remains divided over how to fund DHS. Last week, the Senate approved a measure that did not fully fund ICE and Border Patrol, while the House passed a 60-day funding bill extending DHS funding until May 22.
President Trump has also called for ending the filibuster, encouraging Thune to find the votes necessary to scrap the threshold, The Daily Wire reported Monday.
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