US government shutdown over DHS funding dispute with focus on ICE and CBP exclusion
Consensus Summary
The US government’s partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security entered its record-breaking duration after House Republicans rejected a Senate compromise bill that funded most DHS agencies except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The shutdown began in mid-February when Democrats blocked funding without new restrictions on ICE operations, leading to disruptions like hours-long airport security lines due to unpaid TSA workers. On 29 May, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune agreed to advance the Senate’s bill, abandoning a 60-day full DHS funding proposal that had stalled. Both chambers are on recess, but pro forma sessions on 30 May could see the bill’s passage, with Republicans planning to use budget reconciliation to fund ICE and CBP separately later. The move aims to protect these agencies from future Democratic defunding efforts, though it lacks the reforms Democrats demanded after ICE agents killed two US citizens in Minneapolis. Trump’s executive order ensuring TSA back pay eased airport chaos, but the shutdown’s duration has drawn criticism from Democrats, who blame GOP infighting for prolonging the crisis ahead of midterm elections. The reconciliation bill may also include funding for the Iran conflict and voter ID restrictions, signaling broader partisan battles ahead.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been without funding since mid-February 2024 after Democrats refused to approve appropriations without new guardrails on ICE and CBP operations.
- The partial shutdown is the longest in US history, causing security lines at airports to stretch for hours due to TSA agents going weeks without pay.
- Donald Trump signed an executive order on 29 May 2024 to ensure TSA employees receive back pay, which shortened airport wait times.
- The Senate passed a funding measure on 23 May 2024 for most DHS agencies except ICE and parts of CBP, which House Republicans initially rejected in favor of a 60-day full DHS funding bill.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune agreed on 29 May 2024 to advance the Senate’s DHS funding bill (excluding ICE/CBP) and abandon the 60-day bill.
- Republicans plan to use budget reconciliation to fund ICE and CBP separately, bypassing the filibuster, with Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham leading the effort.
- The House and Senate are on recess through next week, with pro forma sessions scheduled for 30 May 2024 where the Senate’s DHS bill may be taken up.
- The forthcoming reconciliation bill is expected to include funding for the Iran conflict and elements of the Save America Act (voter ID requirements).
- Trump has stated he wants the reconciliation bill on his desk by 1 June 2024.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- John Thune formally rejected the House’s 60-day DHS funding bill in a ceremonial session on 30 May 2024, sending the Senate’s version back to the House with unanimous agreement from both chambers.
- House Republicans held a pro forma session lasting just under three minutes on 30 May 2024 where they did not take up the Senate’s DHS funding bill, leaving its passage uncertain.
- Chuck Schumer accused House Republicans of ‘owning the longest government shutdown in history’ and criticized their ‘deep division and dysfunction’ for prolonging the DHS shutdown.
- Keith Self (House Freedom Caucus) warned on X that funding ICE and CBP separately from DHS would ‘hand our border and ICE agents straight to the radicals who will defund and dismantle them.’
- The partial shutdown caused security lines at major airports to stretch for hours after TSA agents went weeks without pay, with Trump’s executive order on 29 May 2024 addressing this issue.
- Mike Johnson and John Thune’s joint statement explicitly credited Lindsey Graham’s Senate budget committee for initiating the reconciliation process to fund ICE and CBP separately.
- Democrats held up the DHS appropriations bill in January 2024 after ICE agents killed two US citizens during a crackdown in Minneapolis, leading to the partial shutdown in mid-February.
- ICE and other agencies continued operations using funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) during the shutdown, despite the lack of reforms demanded by Democrats.
- Hakeem Jeffries stated that Democrats in the House would ‘never bend the knee’ to Republican demands and called for full funding of DHS except for Trump’s ‘violent mass deportation machine.’
- The reconciliation bill would be the second passed since Trump’s return to the White House, following the OBBBA.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- Article 1 states the House did not take up the Senate’s DHS funding bill during its pro forma session on 30 May 2024, while Article 2 does not mention this specific outcome or timeline for passage.
- Article 1 implies uncertainty about when the House will act on the Senate’s bill, while Article 2 states Republicans ‘hoped to resolve the matter in the coming days’ and may use pro forma sessions.
- Article 1 highlights that no lawmakers objected to Thune’s rejection of the House bill in a ceremonial session, but Article 2 does not mention this procedural detail.
- Article 1 emphasizes rightwing lawmakers’ opposition to separating ICE/CBP funding from DHS, while Article 2 focuses on Graham’s committee initiating the reconciliation process without explicit mention of internal GOP resistance.
- Article 1 attributes Trump’s executive order for TSA back pay to ‘last week’ (unspecified date), while Article 2 specifies it occurred on 29 May 2024.
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