“Dems Vow Retaliation as GOP Circumvents Funding Process”
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Senate Democrats have warned Republicans that they may use a partisan budget process to approve funding for their own priorities if Republicans bypass the appropriation process to fund parts of the Department of Homeland Security. This possibility has arisen due to a stalemate between Democrats and Republicans over funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, leading Republicans to consider using a reconciliation package of about $75 billion to fund these agencies for three years. The reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to pass legislation related to spending with a simple majority vote, has been increasingly used to bypass traditional appropriations, sparking concern among lawmakers about the potential for increased partisan conflict.
Opening the Door to Budget Bypass Politics
In a clear message to Senate Republicans, Democrats have suggested a future shift in budgeting tactics if their GOP counterparts continue to sideline the normal appropriations process. Senate Republicans are currently using a party-line budget process to approve funds for elements of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), specifically Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Senate Democrats warn that they may adopt similar strategies to allocate funds for their favored causes when they regain power.
“They should be on notice. That is opening the door big-time to doing that,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told NOTUS.
Sen. Dick Durbin, another senior appropriator, added, “Once you have established a precedent, the other side is going to take a careful look and see if it benefits them.”
Reconciliation Over Bipartisan Cooperation
The traditional practice has been for the government to be funded through bipartisan annual appropriations bills. Nevertheless, the refusal by Democrats to fund ICE and CBP without legislative reforms to current immigration policy has led to Republicans opting for a reconciliation package. This package, amounting to around $75 billion, would cover three years of funding for ICE and CBP.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune defended this choice, arguing that such measures are necessary due to Democrats’ unwillingness to fund DHS, resulting in its partial shutdown for two months. “This is advance appropriating. So these are dollars that we would spend in the out years anyway,” Thune told reporters.
Reconciliation allows the Senate to pass spending- and revenue-related legislation with a simple majority vote, thereby bypassing a filibuster. It has been a tool for both Republicans and Democrats in the past, with the former using it to pass their tax cut law and the latter to approve a health and spending bill under President Joe Biden.
Reconciliation Rising in Popularity
However, there has been an increasing tendency to use reconciliation to bypass the traditional appropriations process. This approach empowers narrow partisan majorities to fund government agencies and implement policy changes. The Democrats, for instance, increased funding for the IRS by $80 billion in their 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. When the Republicans regained control of Congress, they retracted this IRS funding in 2025 to finance their own priorities.
Republicans, in turn, included extra defense and immigration spending in their reconciliation package last year and are considering additional tens of billions of dollars for defense and the Iran war in another reconciliation bill this year.
This trend has raised concerns among lawmakers from both parties, igniting more partisan quarrels in an already divided Congress.
Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz warned of the risks, saying, “I do think it’s a dangerous game we’re involved in. I think those of us who care about the appropriations process need to know that it’s very clear both parties are carving out exceptions for their favorite stuff, but this is not the way to do normal funding.”
His view was echoed by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis who said, “There’s always an equal and opposite reaction. They’ll use this as a precedent for doing the same thing in reverse.”
Changing Power Dynamics
Although the Democrats would need to control both chambers of Congress and the White House to harness this strategy, they are expected to capture the House of Representatives in November and potentially flip the Senate as well. However, it wouldn’t be until 2029 that a Democratic President could sign any significant legislation into law.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer remains optimistic about his party’s prospects of winning control of the Senate this year. In an exclusive interview with NOTUS, he did not rule out a reconciliation bill that would increase appropriations for Democrat-favored agencies such as those related to health care, education, and climate.
“We believe very strongly that we have to get some things done when we win the majority,” Schumer said. “We’re campaigning on a bunch of them already, but I’m not going to get into speculation as to the best way.”
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