Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference at the US Capitol on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Heather Diehl | Getty Images
Republicans want to begin the process on the Senate floor to pass a $72 billion budget package that will fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Security. Democrats refused to fund both DHS agencies in response to the deaths of two people at the hands of federal agents during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January, triggering a months-long government shutdown.
In April, Congress passed and Trump signed legislation to fund the entire agency, effectively ending a partial shutdown, as Republicans sought to defund ICE and CBP through the budget reconciliation process.
Under budget reconciliation, the Senate only has a 50-vote limit to repeal legislation, but it is only allowed to be used for spending-related measures.
Voting on the package is expected to begin later Thursday, and the “vote-a-rama” process, a measure to implement budget reconciliation, will allow Democrats to introduce amendments to the budget framework and force GOP lawmakers to take politically incorrect votes.
Elsewhere, internal divisions emerged this week among Republicans over whether to invest taxpayer dollars in security upgrades connected to his White House ballroom. A member of the Senate last week ruled that the Secret Service’s $1 billion grant for the project would not be included in the package, although Senate Republicans initially indicated they would rewrite the language and try again.
Trump is furious with the senator, a non-partisan official who advises on Senate procedures, forcing him to fire his position at TruthSocial. But on Wednesday, anger over the ballroom funding was growing among the parties, with Politico reporting that it may be cut from the reconciliation bill, which Trump has slammed.
Tensions rose again this week over a $1.8 billion defense fund announced as part of Trump’s deal with the Internal Revenue Service. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was sent to the Hill on Thursday to meet with the fund’s senators.
“People are worried about paying their mortgage or rent, buying food and paying for gas, not about putting together a $1.8 billion fund so the President and his allies can pay whoever they want without legal precedent or accountability,” Sen.
“This adds to our national debt. If it needs to be resolved, the administration must bring it to Congress to make a decision,” said Cassidy.
Republicans are also in a time crunch. Both chambers are scheduled to go on recess for a week starting Friday, and Trump has set a June 1 deadline for the package to reach his desk. As of Thursday morning, the final text of the bill the Senate was expected to take up that day had not been released. Once approved in the Senate, the package would move to the House for final approval.
And while Democrats, a minority in both chambers, will have little power to stop the package Republicans eventually agree to, they will give up every opportunity to stiff their GOP colleagues on the rising costs and corruption allegations of the Trump administration.
“Democrats are fighting corruption in government. Republicans are helping Trump steal from the American people to fund his ballroom and multi-billion dollar MAGA slush fund,” Schumer said Thursday.
