The Republican Party ended the week with multiple wins, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) saying prayer was part of the process of finally ending the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding lapse.
The DHS had been shut down since Feb. 14.
A 215–211 vote led to House approval of a budget reconciliation bill on April 30.
The Senate had already approved the measure on April 23. President Donald Trump quickly signed the legislation on April 30.
“Despite unrelenting predictions from many of you today in the press that we would fail this week, we did exactly the opposite,” Johnson said.
A political quagmire emerged over DHS funding when Democrats demanded increased identification for federal officers, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and higher usage of judicial warrants.
The extended funding lapse led to airport backlogs, and in response, Trump signed an executive order on March 27 to pay TSA agents who had not received a check.
To bypass the demands of Democratic members of Congress, Johnson presented a reconciliation package, a legislative maneuver used to fast-track budget bills.
“The net result of passing our reconciliation bill is that ICE and CBP are funded for three years, and Democrats got absolutely nothing for their political charade and shenanigans out of that,” Johnson said.
When a reporter asked for more details, Johnson explained that withholding approval of partial financing was necessary to prevent the defunding of border security and immigration enforcement agencies.
He said a partial funding bill was an attempt to isolate and defund immigration enforcement by separating it from the rest of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s agencies.
As a result, Johnson proposed a partisan leverage strategy.
“Sometimes the process around here is cumbersome but in spite of our razor-thin and historically small majority, House Republicans continue to deliver for the American people,” he said.
Other legislative achievements included the passage of the Farm Bill and a reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The Farm Bill funds various agricultural, food, and rural development programs in the United States, while FISA renews the government's surveillance functions without a court order on foreign nationals located outside the United States.
"We pray that the Senate can now pass our FISA bill as quickly as possible, and you know they're deliberating over that right now," Johnson added.