Republican Leaders Announce Two-Track Plan to End Record 47-Day DHS Shutdown

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced on Wednesday a two-track plan to end a record 47-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, the longest such funding lapse in the department's history. The plan, outlined in a joint statement by the two Republican leaders, calls for passing a bill through the regular appropriations process to fund most of DHS through the end of the fiscal year, while routing funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through a separate reconciliation bill. President Donald Trump endorsed the approach on Wednesday, posting on Truth Social that he wants the reconciliation legislation on his desk no later than June 1. The announcement marked a sharp reversal for Johnson, who had called the Senate's version of the plan a "joke" just days earlier and vowed that "Republicans will not be a part of this." A vote on the first track could come as early as Thursday, according to reporting by NPR and Ouest France, using a unanimous consent procedure that allows Congress to act without formal floor votes while lawmakers remain on a two-week recess.

Trump's social media post broke the Republican deadlock The agreement came after days of internal Republican friction that had stalled any resolution to the shutdown, which began in mid-February 2026. Johnson had rejected a Senate-passed bill last week that excluded ICE and Border Patrol funding, and House Republicans instead passed a 60-day short-term continuing resolution for all of DHS — a measure Senate Democrats made clear they would not support. The rupture between Johnson and Thune became public, with members of the House Freedom Caucus loudly opposing any package that separated immigration enforcement funding from the broader DHS bill. Trump's Wednesday social media post, which effectively blessed the Senate's approach he had previously resisted, appears to have provided the political cover Johnson needed to reverse course. According to Axios, Johnson had told Fox News as recently as Tuesday that he could not accept a bill that "literally wrote the number zero" for border security and immigration enforcement funding. The reconciliation strategy, which allows Republicans to pass legislation with a simple Senate majority and bypass a Democratic filibuster, was cited by both leaders as the mechanism that made the deal viable.

„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.” — Donald Trump via Reuters

„We appreciate and share the President's determination to once and for all bring an end to the Democrat DHS shutdown.” — Mike Johnson and John Thune via AP News

Airport chaos and two deaths in Minneapolis drove the impasse The 47-day shutdown caused significant disruption at U.S. airports, where thousands of Transportation Security Administration officers were forced to work without pay since mid-February, according to Ouest France and BBC reporting. The political roots of the shutdown trace to January 2026, when two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis during protests against the administration's immigration policies. Democrats in the Senate responded by refusing to approve any DHS funding bill that did not include new restrictions on ICE and Border Patrol, such as requiring warrants issued by a judge to enter homes and banning masks for immigration enforcement officers. Republicans rejected those conditions outright, producing the legislative deadlock that stretched across seven weeks. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Democrats had not wavered throughout the standoff, framing the Republican reversal as a concession.

„For days, Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction. Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered.” — Chuck Schumer via NPR

The Department of Homeland Security was established in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks as part of a sweeping reorganization of federal agencies. Partial government shutdowns occur when Congress fails to pass appropriations legislation funding specific departments or agencies, forcing affected federal workers to either work without pay or be furloughed. The current shutdown, at 47 days, is described in source articles as the longest in DHS history. The reconciliation process referenced in the plan is a congressional budget procedure that allows certain fiscal legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes, circumventing the 60-vote threshold typically needed to overcome a filibuster.

Republican skeptics and Democratic demands leave outcome uncertain Despite the announcement, neither outcome in the two-track plan is guaranteed, and the path forward carries significant political risk for Republican leaders. Several House Republicans expressed deep skepticism that a second reconciliation bill could pass Congress this year, with Representative Eric Burlison telling Axios it would need to move quickly and include healthcare reforms. Representative David Valadao told Axios on Tuesday that leaving part of DHS unfunded to be resolved through reconciliation was "a bad idea." Democrats, while welcoming the agreement as broadly consistent with their position against giving ICE additional funds without reforms, noted that none of their specific policy demands — including the warrant requirement and mask ban — were included in the deal. According to NPR, ICE has been only minimally affected by the shutdown because Republican lawmakers had already approved $75 billion for the agency through a separate reconciliation bill passed last year. The Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and Border Patrol as early as Thursday through unanimous consent procedures, though that outcome depends on no single lawmaker objecting.

47 (days) — Record length of DHS partial shutdown

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