Lawmakers Turn to Reconciliation to Fund DHS After Two-Month Lapse

Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump are pursuing budget reconciliation to fund the Department of Homeland Security after about two months without full funding, the commentary said. Party leaders plan to limit the package to funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the commentary said.

Reconciliation can be used to bypass the Senate filibuster because it requires a simple majority in the Senate, the commentary said, but lawmakers must first approve a budget resolution shell in both chambers to make the tool available. Republicans have pursued a similar path before, and party officials hope to finish the measure by June 1, the commentary said.

The commentary said the effort is complicated by internal GOP disagreements and by the lengthy procedural steps needed to reach reconciliation. It also noted the Trump administration has used a contested authority to redirect funds to pay some Transportation Security Administration workers and others, raising legal and precedent concerns, the commentary said.

The piece placed the current stalemate in a broader context of recurring funding delays, noting Congress has repeatedly missed the Oct. 1 fiscal deadline and relied on continuing resolutions or bundled appropriations packages. It warned the same dynamics could complicate efforts to fund the government for fiscal 2027, which begins Oct. 1, 2026, and said narrow congressional margins and political mistrust make a timely deal unlikely, the commentary said.

The commentary said the funding impasse has taken a toll on federal workers and morale. It closed by invoking a line from the movie Christmas Vacation — “It’s Christmas and we’re all in misery,” spoken by the character Ellen Griswold, played by Beverly D’Angelo — as a metaphor for the ongoing appropriations turmoil, the commentary said.

Source: Original Article