Senate Republicans voted early Thursday to adopt a $70 billion budget resolution to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol through the remainder of President Trump’s term in the latest attempt to fully reopen the Department of Homeland Security.

The framework, approved 50-48, now heads to the House as part of a grinding, weeks-long process by which Republicans can fund both agencies without Democratic support.

“We have a multistep process ahead of us, but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America’s borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) after his colleagues adopted the final resolution at 3:30 a.m.

DHS has been partially shut down since Feb. 14 as Democrats have demanded policy changes in the wake of fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents in Minnesota.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) joined 46 Democrats in opposing the budget resolution. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) did not vote.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks during a press conference at the US Capitol on April 21, 2026. WILL OLIVER/EPA/Shutterstock

Final approval of the resolution came after senators voted down more than a dozen messaging amendments, mostly proposed by Democrats, meant to lower health care expenses and other costs.

“Instead of pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into ICE and Border Patrol, Republicans should be working with Democrats to lower out-of-pocket costs,” said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Customs and Border Patrol agents execute a warrant for a wanted man in the Chicago area in September 2025. Tamara Beckwith

ICE agents detain a man in Chicago, Illinois, on Dec. 16, 2025. AP

The Senate voted last month to reopen the rest of DHS, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he would not bring that bill to the floor until ICE and Border Patrol were funded as well.

Thune and other GOP leaders say they hope both bills will get to Trump’s desk by the end of this month.

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But that could prove difficult as many Republicans see the budget bill as the last real chance to enact their priorities before the November midterms.

Republicans in both the Senate and House have pushed to add other items, including money for farmers and Trump’s proof of citizenship voting bill, the SAVE America Act.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) briefly held up the vote series late Wednesday, frustrated that the bill would not include parts of the SAVE America Act or other legislation.

“This is the last train leaving the station,” said Kennedy, who ultimately withdrew his objections and allowed the voting to proceed.

Agents stand guard outside a Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon, on Oct, 21, 2025. AP

Democrats say any DHS funding bill should place restraints on federal immigration authorities, including requiring officers to display their faces and identity numbers and more use of judicial warrants, among other asks.

After federal agents shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, Trump agreed to a Democratic request that Homeland Security funding be separated from a larger spending measure that became law.

But bipartisan negotiations went nowhere, and DHS funding lapsed with no agreement on changes to the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.

Trump has used executive orders to pay some department salaries in the meantime, but the future of those paychecks is uncertain.

A federal law enforcement agents points a gun at a protester during a crowd control operation in East Side, Chicago, on Oct. 14, 2025. AP

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks alongside Rep. Clay Fuller and House Majoritu Leader Steve Scalise during a press conference on April 21, 2026. Getty Images

During the recess, Thune and Johnson announced that they would pursue a two-track approach — passing the Senate bill that funds most of the department through regular order and using the party-line bill to pass ICE and CBP funding.

However, Johnson has still not said when the House will take up the Senate legislation from March and it’s unclear whether his members will back the reconciliation bill as is.

Johnson said this week that his chamber would take up the reconciliation bill first, in order to ensure ICE and Border Patrol are fully funded.

“We’ll get there,” the speaker told reporters. “Just stay tuned.”

With Post wires