Thune lays out next steps after Trump's move to restore TSA pay

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Republican senators Thursday that the chamber should fund most of the Department of Homeland Security through traditional appropriations while reserving reconciliation efforts for ICE and Border Patrol, following President Trump's directive to his new Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay TSA agents. The DHS has been shut down for 40 days as Democrats refused to accept Republican demands for ICE reforms and restrictions on "Big Beautiful Bill" funding. Thune said he asked his staff to draft text funding multiple DHS portions and hoped to pass it by unanimous consent, though it remained unclear whether either party could resurrect broader shutdown negotiations. Republicans hold a fallback option: funding the entire department through a reconciliation bill requiring only a simple majority, which could also include up to $200 billion for the Pentagon tied to Iran and the SAVE America Act, but faces a difficult path in both chambers.