Senate Returns to Stalled ICE Funding Bill After Missing Trump's June 1 Deadline

WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans returned from Memorial Day recess Monday facing unfinished business on a $72 billion reconciliation package to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, after the chamber adjourned in late May without a vote and missed a June 1 deadline set by President Trump.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said before the recess that the Senate would "pick up where we left off" when members returned, according to CBS News. The chamber had been prepared to take up a revised version of the bill the week of May 22 before the effort collapsed.

The breakdown came after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was dispatched to the Hill to convince skeptical GOP members about a nearly $1.8 billion Justice Department "anti-weaponization" fund included in the package, according to CBS News. The fund was established as part of a settlement of a suit by President Trump against the IRS, and allies of the president who were charged for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol have said they plan to submit claims, CBS News reported. Senate Republicans who met with Blanche said afterward that the chamber would adjourn without voting.

A separate provision also drew fire. Senate parliamentarians ruled that $1 billion in proposed Secret Service funding -- tied to security upgrades connected to Trump's planned White House ballroom project -- violated reconciliation rules, according to CBS News and Gray DC. GOP leaders were expected to strip at least part of that provision from a revised bill.

The legislation targets multi-year funding for immigration enforcement agencies. Senate Republicans on the Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees released a nearly $72 billion bill on May 4 that included over $38 billion for ICE and more than $26 billion for CBP, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee had passed its portion of the bill by a vote of 8-5, Federal News Network reported.

The process was set in motion by a record-long DHS funding lapse. Senate Democrats blocked action on the broader Department of Homeland Security funding bill for weeks following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers in January, according to Punchbowl News. The DHS partial shutdown lasted 76 days before a separate spending deal was reached, with Republicans agreeing to fund ICE and Border Patrol through reconciliation, Federal News Network reported.

Because reconciliation requires only a simple majority of 51 votes in the Senate rather than the 60 needed to break a filibuster, Republicans can pass the bill without Democratic support. The Senate passed the underlying budget resolution 50-48 on April 23, with Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., the only two Republicans voting against it, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The House adopted the same resolution 215-211 on April 29.

Democrats have been unified in opposition. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of funding what he called a "MAGA slush fund," according to Gray DC. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at the Capitol that "taxpayer dollars in this country should be used to make life more affordable for the American people, not subsidize corruption."

Some Republicans, including Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, expressed reservations before the recess about provisions affecting Medicaid coverage and food assistance, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

If the Senate passes its version, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has signaled the House would be ready to take up the bill as soon as July 2, with the goal of sending it to the president before July 4, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, meaning near-unanimous GOP support is required for final passage.

Sources cited:
- CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-reconciliation-bill-white-house-ballroom-doj-anti-weaponization-fund/)
- Federal News Network (https://federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-newscast/2026/05/senate-committee-passes-reconciliation-bill-to-fund-ice-and-cbp/)
- National Low Income Housing Coalition (https://nlihc.org/resource/senate-republicans-release-72-billion-reconciliation-bill-funding-ice-cbp-and-white-house)
- Punchbowl News (https://punchbowl.news/article/senate/72b-recon/)
- Gray DC / KEYC (https://www.keyc.com/2026/05/21/congress-delays-vote-reconciliation-bill-tied-to-ice-funding/)
- Bloomberg Government (https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/republicans-ice-and-cbp-bill-release-kicks-off-complex-sprint)