Trump calls for 2nd 'big, beautiful bill' to fund ICE on his desk by June 1
For 47 days, Democrats have refused to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) without sweeping reforms. President Donald Trump is now...
By Fox News · Fox News
For 47 days, Democrats have refused to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) without sweeping reforms. President Donald Trump is now considering a move that could make both agencies shutdown-proof for the rest of his second term. The president is asking top Republicans to draft a budget reconciliation package funding ICE and CBP that could pass both chambers without any Democratic support. "We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won’t be able to stop us," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "We will not allow them to hurt the families of these Great Patriots by defunding them." The president added that he wants the legislation on his desk by June 1. HOUSE CONSERVATIVES ERUPT OVER SENATE GOP, WHITE HOUSE DEAL AMID SAVE ACT FIGHT The budget reconciliation push comes as Republican efforts to fund ICE and the Border Patrol through regular order have stalled in the Senate due to widespread opposition from Democrats. With the Senate’s 60-vote legislative threshold in place, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., effectively has veto power over DHS appropriations if he keeps his caucus in line. The budget reconciliation process would allow Republicans to steer around Democratic opposition and pass a DHS funding bill at a simple majority threshold. Republicans narrowly passed Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act using reconciliation in June 2025 after months of intraparty squabbling. The feat could prove more difficult in an election year when lawmakers will have to identify pay-for spending cuts. The strategy could also extend the funding lapse for several more months. It is not clear how long Republicans would seek to fund immigration enforcement, or whether they would also include funding for non-immigration-related DHS agencies in a forthcoming budget reconciliation bill. The U.S. Coast Guard, the Transportat…