Overview
- After an overnight vote‑a‑rama, the Senate approved a GOP budget blueprint 50–48 early Thursday, launching a reconciliation path to steer roughly $70 billion to ICE and Border Patrol over about three years with a simple majority.
- The plan now moves to the House, with committees directed to draft the detailed bill by mid‑May and a June 1 target from the White House, though passage remains uncertain as some Republicans push to bolt on other priorities.
- DHS leaders warn the stopgap pay lifeline is near empty, with Secretary Markwayne Mullin saying he has one payroll left in early May, which raises the risk that TSA officers and other staff could miss checks again.
- Democrats refuse to back enforcement funding without new limits after two fatal shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis, and their amendments on health and cost‑of‑living issues failed during the marathon session.
- The partial shutdown that began in mid‑February continues to strain services, with FEMA firefighter training postponed, the National Flood Insurance Program restricted, and more than half of CISA’s workforce furloughed.