(Washington) The US Senate adopted a text early Friday aimed at putting an end to the partial budgetary paralysis which has caused some chaos in airports for several weeks. A text rejected almost straight away, however, by the Republicans in the House.
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In a show of hands, senators from both sides approved funding for most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with the exception of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol (CBP).
The compromise text must still pass before the House of Representatives, but many Republican elected officials in this assembly warned Friday that the text adopted in the Senate did not suit them.
“The Senate bill is doomed to failure,” Republican Rep. Chip Roy said in a video posted on X.
The chamber will propose a new text “to support CBP and ICE,” declared the ultraconservative elected official from Texas, who added: “We do not accept this crap from the Senate.”
House Republican leaders have signaled that they will propose 60 days of funding for all of DHS, although it appears unlikely that Democrats will accept the initiative.
The Republicans have a majority in both houses of Congress, but due to the rules of the Senate, a certain number of Democratic votes is necessary to adopt the budget texts.
Aside from CBP and ICE, the proposal approved by the Senate notably provides funding for the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) which reports to DHS and other federal agencies.
Since February 14, funding for the Department of Homeland Security has been frozen due to the deep dispute between Democrats and Republicans in Congress over ICE practices, which are highly contested on the left.
PHOTO RONALDO SCHEMIDT, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Travelers wait in a queue at security checks at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, March 23, 2026.
This prevents the payment of TSA agent salaries. Absenteeism and resignations have surged, reducing the available workforce.
In a country where traveling by plane is very common, images of queues of up to several hours to go through security checks have been making headlines in the American media for days.
Donald Trump’s administration deployed ICE agents to more than a dozen airports on Monday to help TSA agents, without the lines actually reducing.
On Thursday, the president announced that he would sign an executive order to provide funds to pay TSA agents, but did not specify by what means exactly.
