Department of Homeland Security reopened

NPR - The House of Representatives voted yesterday to reopen the majority of the Department of Homeland Security, ending the longest agency shutdown in U.S. history. The House passed a bill funding DHS, excluding dollars for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. The measure was approved through a voice vote on the 76th day of the shutdown. After federal agents killed two U.S. citizens in January, Democrats pulled their support for a massive bipartisan spending bill that included DHS in order to push for reforms in the way agents do their jobs.

The Senate passed a plan five weeks ago to fund DHS except for some immigration enforcement divisions. House Speaker Mike Johnson initially called that bill a joke, but later reached a deal with the more conservative members of his conference, who were holding out for full funding of DHS, NPR’s Claudia Grisales says. Republicans have been crafting a partisan legislative vehicle known as a reconciliation bill that includes funding for immigration enforcement for the remainder of Trump's term. Initially, Johnson sided with the conservatives, but later changed his stance as reconciliation dragged on. He said now that reconciliation is moving, Republicans could also approve additional funding.