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President Donald Trump announced this Wednesday that he will fund the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol without the need for Democratic votes, using the budget reconciliation process to bypass the legislative impasse in the Senate.
In an extensive message published on Truth Social, Trump set June 1 as the deadline for the bill to reach his desk and announced that he will work in direct coordination with the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, and the Senate leader, John Thune.
"Let's work as quickly and with as much focus as possible to replenish funding for our border and ICE agents, and the radical left Democrats will not be able to stop us," wrote Trump, who also demanded the immediate repeal of the Senate filibuster.
The announcement comes amid a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has already lasted over 40 days and has resulted in estimated economic losses of 2.5 billion dollars.
During this period, the House approved a bill by a vote of 213 to 203 for short-term funding of the DHS until May 22, but the Senate could not move forward with the measure due to a lack of the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster.
The budget reconciliation strategy would allow Republicans to pass funding with a simple majority of 51 votes in the Senate.
This avenue is already being used to promote the so-called "Great and Beautiful Law," which includes 80 billion dollars for the enforcement of immigration laws.
Trump also noted that while the legislation is being approved, he will continue to use funds from that same law to ensure that ICE agents and Border Patrol receive their salaries on time and in full.
The leader took the opportunity in his message to attack the Democrats, accusing them of wanting to defund law enforcement and favoring open borders.
The acting secretary Mullin, who took office as Secretary of Homeland Security amid the crisis, has supported the administration's efforts to keep border security agencies operational despite the budget impasse.
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