WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Despite agreeing on a plan to reopen the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Congress will remain in recess this week.
The deal would fund the entire department except ICE and Border Patrol. The Senate unanimously passed the funding bill for a second time during a pro-forma session last week. It now heads back to the House.
While previously dismissing the plan as “a joke”, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA.) now appears to back it after President Donald Trump gave his approval.
Republicans say they will work to fund ICE and CBP through a separate reconciliation bill, which can bypass a potential Democratic-led filibuster.
Meanwhile, President Trump is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House Wednesday. It comes as Trump has threatened to pull the U.S. from the global alliance as members have refused to participate in the Iran war.
Despite Trump’s threats, the President cannot unilaterally withdraw the U.S. from NATO; a 2023 law cosponsored by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio requires the president to get Congressional approval.
On Monday, President Trump is set to hold a news conference with members of the military in the Oval Office. It follows the rescue of two Air Force airmen stranded in Iran after their jet was shot down over the war-torn country Friday.
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