By KEVIN FREKING and STEPHEN GROVES, Associated Press<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced Wednesday a plan to fully fund the\u00a0Department of Homeland Security<\/a>, moving past a split between the two Republican leaders that resulted in Congress leaving Washington last week without a fix to a\u00a0record-setting partial government shutdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n They said in a joint statement that \u201cin the coming days\u201d Republicans in Congress will return to a Senate plan to fund most of the department through an agreement with Democratic senators, with the exception of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. Republicans would then try later to fund those agencies through party-line budgeting legislation.<\/p>\n Neither outcome is guaranteed, and the strategy could potentially still face opposition from the GOP\u2019s own ranks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe appreciate and share the President\u2019s determination to once and for all bring an end to the Democrat DHS shutdown,\u201d said Johnson, R-La., and Thune, R-S.D.<\/p>\n The plan represents a do-over of what senators had in mind when, early Friday, they passed a bipartisan funding agreement through unanimous consent. The Senate could approve similar legislation as soon as Thursday morning through unanimous consent, but even if that happens, it\u2019s unclear how quickly the bill could move through the House. It will likely take several months for Republicans to also pass budgeting legislation to fund ICE and border patrol.<\/p>\n House Republicans refused to go along with the Senate plan last week, instead changing the bill to fund all of DHS for 60 days.<\/p>\n As a result, the shutdown continued as lawmakers left for their home states and congressional districts for a two-week recess. The DHS shutdown reached its 47th day on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, in a statement, said \u201cRepublican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction.\u201d<\/p>\n The announcement from the GOP leaders showed that for now, Thune and Johnson are on the same page. Their working relationship experienced a rupture late last week when Johnson \u2014\u00a0at the urging of many House Republicans<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 rejected Thune\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n