WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump swiftly signed a bipartisan legislation Thursday to fund much of the Department of Homeland Security, but not its immigration enforcement operations, shortly after the package won final approval in the House, ending the longest agency shutdown in history.
The quick action after weeks of political blame brought an abrupt end to the months-long standoff that began after Trump’s deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis launched a reckoning on Capitol Hill over the funding for the president’s agenda.
DHS has been without routine funds since Feb. 14, causing hardship for workers, though many of the immigration enforcement operations were able to keep running with separate funding sources. The White House had warned that temporary funding Trump had tapped to pay Transportation Security Administration and other agency personnel would “soon run out.” Some employees risked missed paychecks in May.
“It is about damn time,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, who proposed the bipartisan bill more than 70 days ago.
The House swiftly voted by voice earlier Thursday, without a formal roll call, to pass the measure.
The movement in Congress comes as DHS is under intense scrutiny after Trump ousted Kristi Noem as the department's leader, installing Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin in the middle of the shutdown. The agency counts some 260,000 employees, across TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA and other operations.
Many workers have endured repeated turmoil with potential furloughs and pay lapses as the congressional stalemate dragged on. This shutdown came on the heels of last year's governmentwide closure, which itself had set a record at 43 days. Countless employees have struggled with bills or simply quit their jobs.