GOP Sources: Trump Expected to Back Senate DHS Funding Bill

President Donald Trump is expected to back a Senate-passed bill funding parts of the Department of Homeland Security, which could break a standoff with House Republicans and shorten a partial government shutdown, according to GOP sources in the Senate.

That approach is being seen as the fastest way to reopen the government while allowing Republicans to pursue additional immigration enforcement funding through a separate budget reconciliation package, The Hill reported on Wednesday.

The Senate measure funds most of the agencies covered under the DHS budget, including the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, while not including money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., spoke with Trump on Monday as part of efforts to resolve the impasse with House Republicans.

Sources cautioned that Trump has not made a final decision and could still shift course.

"There's a lot of pressure on Thune to figure out what our plan is on DHS," a Senate GOP aide said. "The base is losing their mind. We've got to do something."

The White House is also reassessing its support for a House-passed two-month stopgap measure funding all DHS operations after Senate Democrats signaled they would block it. The House approved that measure on Friday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump has repeatedly urged lawmakers to return from the two-week Easter recess.

Senate Republicans have held multiple votes to pressure Democrats on a broader DHS funding bill, but GOP strategists say the political impact of those votes has begun to fade.

Multiple Republican sources said Trump began reconsidering the Senate strategy after his conversation with Thune and after being briefed on plans to use reconciliation to increase ICE and Border Protection funding, potentially including provisions from the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act.

Still, some warned that Trump could reverse course if backing the Senate bill risks backlash from GOP voters.

Asked whether Trump encouraging a House vote would help, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said, "Those are the kinds of things that we're working on."

Trump's involvement could ease tensions between Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who has opposed the Senate bill.

Johnson said Friday, "The Republicans are not going to be part of any effort to reopen our borders or to stop immigration enforcement."

According to a source familiar with internal discussions, Johnson has told House Republicans the chamber is "definitely not passing the Senate bill."

Senate Republicans counter that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July, already provided four years of funding for ICE and Border Protection and that additional resources could be approved quickly through reconciliation.

They also note that Senate Democrats have rejected short-term funding proposals covering the entire department.

One Senate GOP aide said Trump shifted positions late last week after seeing strong opposition from House Republicans and conservative voters.

Thune has promoted the Senate approach as a way to secure immediate funding for key DHS agencies while preserving a path to increase immigration enforcement funding with a simple-majority vote.

Budget experts say the reconciliation route could prove complicated if used too broadly.

"You're adding complexity because you're bringing in additional committees, additional stakeholders. DHS is almost like a Swiss Army knife of agencies and bureaus that all have very different activities in support of the same singular mission," said Rachel Snyderman of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Trump has also urged Republicans to consider eliminating the Senate filibuster, though GOP aides say support for such a move remains limited within the conference.

Republican leaders are now working to bring Trump back in line with the Senate strategy, arguing it offers the clearest path to ending the shutdown.

Trump also signed an executive order to ensure TSA workers are paid during the shutdown, a move that gave House Republicans more flexibility to reject the Senate proposal.