Let’s be completely honest here. The Senate just passed something that could have been passed *checks watch* weeks ago, but the Democrats are now claiming that they won… something.

So, what finally broke the idiotic logjam? Well, President Trump announced on Thursday evening that he would sign an executive order to send out paychecks to the TSA workers. Did that finally signal to Chuck Schumer that the “leverage” of making the American people suffer at airports was coming to an end?

Trump’s announcement that he would use his executive authority to pay TSA workers effectively ended the negotiations with Democrats over a bill to partially fund ICE.

It came just before TSA workers were scheduled to miss another paycheck on Friday.

Republican senators familiar with the president’s thinking said Trump was concerned by the possibility of a nationwide walkout by TSA workers if the funding impasse dragged on.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) worked with the White House budget office to identify an unused pot of money that could be tapped to pay TSA workers. It provided enough money to cover the TSA for several months.

At the end of all of this pain and suffering, the deal on the table that got passed was pretty much the same as ones that had been rejected previously.

The Senate unanimously approved a funding package Friday to reopen the Department of Homeland Security after a 40-day shutdown, backing a deal that excludes money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and setting up a high-stakes battle in the House.

The measure passed by voice vote at 2:20 a.m. ET on Friday, following a marathon negotiating session, as lawmakers scrambled to ease mounting disruption caused by the shutdown.

The deal would fund most of DHS, but strips out provisions for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and for Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

And as has been repeatedly pointed out, ICE and CBP already got their funding through 2029 via the One Big Beautiful Bill, so not getting additional funding can be a future battle. What was important was getting the rest of the Department of Homeland Security funded. Now, the newly passed funding bill needs to go back to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson will once again be made to pull a rabbit out of his proverbial top hat, as House Republicans are unhappy about how this Senate bill has been constructed. However, I’m betting the Speaker and the president will spend the weekend whipping up the votes, but it is also likely that President Trump goes ahead with signing his order to pay the TSA anyway, just to relieve the pressure and give the House time to get in line to vote this through.

However, Democrats are attempting to claim that this was a big victory for them.

After weeks of negotiations, Republicans caved to our demands to fund DHS without a blank check for ICE and CBP.

My full statement below: pic.twitter.com/KGvgL7VcqL

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 27, 2026

But like most of Chuck Schumer’s moves during Trump’s second term, this was a lot of pain for the “normies” and government employees with zero gain for Democrats.

Sad spin. They tried to hold up DHS funding to get immediate concessions from ICE & Border Patrol, & didn't get them. https://t.co/800Yq4J8WI

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) March 27, 2026

Oh yeah, about that…

It was an agreement that largely gave Schumer and Senate Democrats what they wanted — no funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). But it lacked the stringent reforms they desired, like requiring judicial warrants or requiring agents to unmask.

While the deal mirrors previous attempts by Democrats to pass similar legislation that carved out immigration funding, (Senate Majority Leader John) Thune argued that Democrats are still walking away empty-handed in the policy fight over immigration enforcement.

“We’ve been trying for weeks to fund the whole thing,” Thune said. “And, I mean, in the end, this is what they were willing to agree to. But again, it’s different that it has zero reforms in it. I mean, they got no reforms on DHS, which they could have had if they had been willing to work with us a little bit on that.”

Shhhh, Senator Thune, the Democrats are having their victory lap.

Shutdown is finally over… and Republicans caved for now, agreeing to our consistent demand that ICE & CBP don’t get another dime until reforms are made. pic.twitter.com/bmBFUynFoN

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) March 27, 2026

BREAKING: Republicans have relented to Democratic demands to fund the rest of DHS besides ICE & Border Patrol.

No more holding TSA hostage. No blank check for ICE & Border Patrol. We need real reforms & accountability. I'll keep fighting for exactly that.https://t.co/rZ0rokTxyp

— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) March 27, 2026

So, the Senate Democrats got a deal they could have had weeks ago, ICE and CBP are still funded, and the “reforms” they wanted that would have hamstrung deportations are nonexistent. But hey, they think they won!

This legislative battle is not yet over, but with TSA getting paychecks in the immediate future, and the Senate having done this much, the rest of the current problem can be dealt with swiftly by Speaker Johnson and President Trump. That DHS funding is being done piecemeal is not ideal, but at least it is getting done. And Congress in general could stand to actually WORK a little bit more.

Featured image via Proulain on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license