US House votes to end DHS shutdown as Senate grills Hegseth on Iran

After weeks of delay, the House on Thursday voted to fund much of the US Department of Homeland Security, excluding immigration enforcement.

The bipartisan package would end the agency's longest shutdown and avoid another round of airport disruptions. The bill now heads to President Donald Trump to sign, although much of his immigration agenda - which has been central to the dispute over funding - is paid for separately.

Meanwhile in the Senate, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff faced another day of intense questioning as the Trump administration seeks a historic $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027.

 

It's the first chance for senators to confront or praise how the leaders are handling the Iran war. One Democrat raised "serious constitutional concerns" about Hegseth's claim that the 60-day legal limit for the war is on pause during a ceasefire.

Senators also questioned the defense secretary's efforts to remake military culture, the management of munition supplies, and whether the military is doing enough to prevent civilian deaths.

The price of Brent crude oil briefly surged past $126 a barrel early Thursday as stalled US-Iran talks raised doubts over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a permanent end to the war. That shock to oil supplies and prices is putting pressure on Trump, who on Thursday floated a new plan to reopen the strait.

Democrats refused to fund US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol without changes to those operations after the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal agents during protests against the immigration actions in Minneapolis.

Republicans would not go along with a plan pushed by Democrats to fund TSA and the other parts of DHS without the money for ICE and Border Patrol.

While the Senate unanimously approved the bipartisan package a month ago, the bill languished in the House.

To break the impasse, Republicans in both the House and Senate decided to tackle the immigration enforcement funding on their own through what is called budget reconciliation, a cumbersome weekslong process ahead.

By beginning that budget process, Johnson was able to unlock a broader bipartisan bill for TSA agents and the rest of DHS.

House Republicans late Wednesday adopted a budget resolution on a largely party-line vote, 215-211, that is focused on eventually providing $70 billion for immigration enforcement and deportations for the remainder of Trump's time in office and ensure Democrats can no longer block funding.