Business & Economy

Senate GOP fears shutdown streak

by Sylvan Lane - 04/22/26 8:02 PM ET

Link copied

by Sylvan Lane - 04/22/26 8:02 PM ET

Link copied

Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter

{beacon}

Business & Economy

The Big Story

Republicans fear string of shutdowns under Trump

Senate Republicans who are scrambling to end the two-month shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fear that Democrats will trigger an even bigger government shutdown in October and are working out strategies to avert that politically disastrous scenario.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) plans to pass a budget resolution through the Senate this week that would serve as a blueprint for a budget reconciliation bill Republicans are aiming to pass later this spring.

That measure would bypass a Senate Democratic filibuster to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol through 2029.

But there’s growing concern among GOP senators that even if Congress funds ICE and Border Patrol for the next 3 1/2 years, Democrats will provoke a fight in September to trigger yet another government shutdown.

The current shutdown of DHS is the longest in history, breaking the record set last fall when the government was shut down for 43 days over Democrats’ demands to extend health care subsidies.

Republicans say they’re worried the regular government funding process has become irreparably broken after two bruising funding standoffs during President Trump’s second term.

“I’m very concerned about the appropriations process,” Thune said, predicting that Democrats will never agree to fund ICE and Border Patrol while Trump is in office.

Other GOP lawmakers also suspect Democrats would embrace a battle over government funding, knowing that another shutdown would inflict more political pain on the party in charge of Congress and Washington.

“You can bet on it that that’s Chuck Schumer’s game plan, to shut the government down at every chance he gets,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who said he favors passing whatever legislation necessary to avoid yet another government shutdown in the fall.