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WASHINGTON — <\/span>The Senate is expected to try quickly passing a measure Thursday that would fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, though it’s unclear how soon the House will follow to largely end the longest partial government shutdown in history.<\/p>\n House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced a plan Wednesday to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security<\/a> as part of a two-step process. The agreement puts the leaders on the same page for ending the impasse after they pursued separate plans that resulted in Congress leaving Washington last week without a fix.<\/p>\n Johnson and Thune announced a return to the bipartisan Senate plan worked out with Democrats that funds most of the department, with the exception of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. Republicans would then try later to fund those agencies on their own through party-line spending legislation that could take months to finish.<\/p>\n Neither outcome is guaranteed, and the strategy could potentially still face opposition from the GOP\u2019s own ranks even though President Donald Trump<\/a> has given his support.<\/p>\n \u201cWe appreciate and share the President\u2019s determination to once and for all bring an end to the Democrat DHS shutdown,\u201d said Johnson, R-La., and Thune, R-S.D.<\/p>\n House Republicans refused to go along with the Senate plan last week excluding ICE and Border Patrol, instead changing the bill to fund all of DHS for 60 days.<\/p>\n The DHS shutdown reached its 47th day on Wednesday. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, “Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction.”<\/p>\n The two top Republicans hope to win over skeptical GOP colleagues, but the most conservative lawmakers are likely to seek full funding for all of Trump\u2019s immigration and deportation operations.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again,\u201d Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., posted on X. \u201cIf that\u2019s the vote, I\u2019m a NO.\u201d<\/p>\n The Senate meets for an early pro-forma session Thursday. Those generally last just a few minutes as the vast majority of senators are not present. Senators could take up the measure they passed just last week through a unanimous consent request, allowing it to pass if no senator objects. The Senate’s action would then send the bill back to the House, which is also holding a pro-forma session later in the morning.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the narrow budget package that Trump wants prepared for later this year is expected to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the remainder of Trump\u2019s term, as a way to try to ensure those agencies are no longer at risk from Democrats objecting to the president\u2019s immigration enforcement agenda. Trump said he wants that legislation on his desk by June 1.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won\u2019t be able to stop us,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries released a statement after Johnson and Thune sent out their announcement, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s time to pay TSA agents, end the airport chaos and fully fund every part of the Department of Homeland Security that does not relate to Donald Trump\u2019s violent mass deportation machine.\u201d<\/p>\n The vast majority of Homeland Security workers continue to report to work during the shutdown, but many thousands have been going without pay. That led to more Transportation Security Administration agents calling out from work, causing frustrating security lines at some of the nation’s biggest airports. Those bottlenecks appeared to be clearing this week as agents began receiving backpay, per an executive order<\/a> from Trump.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n