Thune Stalls DHS Funding Bill Again, Sending Congress Home

• May 21, 2026

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., gestures while speaking to reporters as he walks into his office at the U.S. Capitol Building on May 21, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The long-stalled Department of Homeland Security immigration funding bill unexpectedly stalled again Thursday afternoon. Senate Majority Leader John Thune delayed the vote until after the long weekend and the even longer recess, missing President Donald Trump’s June 1 deadline.

On Tuesday, Thune told the press that senators were going to vote this week on the Secure America Act, “a piece of legislation that will fund [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and [Customs and Border Protection] not only for this year, but for the entirety of the Trump administration.”

Immigration and border protection have gone without fiscal year 2026 funding since Democrats voted to shut down the Department of Homeland Security on Feb. 15. However, both still receive necessary operational funding from the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” passed last July.

The Senate was expected to take up the immigration reconciliation bill Thursday afternoon, extending the House’s vote to fly out Friday. Thune reportedly decided to cancel votes Thursday afternoon after the party failed to come to an agreement.

Trump’s demands likely contributed to in-party fighting, including the newly announced Department of Justice Anti-Weaponization Fund. The DOJ described the fund as a “systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare,” which skeptical lawmakers are already questioning will assist Jan. 6 rioters.

“We have a lot of members who are concerned, obviously, about the timing, but also about the substance [of the weaponization fund],” Thune told Punchbowl News after the decision to cancel the vote.

“The timing obviously is something we had no control over. So … they need to help with this issue, because we have a lot of members who are concerned,” Thune continued.

The other point of frustration for members was Trump’s demand to add funding for the security of the East Wing ballroom project, which became a point of contention for many members of the GOP.

Both chambers will revert to their previous voting schedules. The Senate is already on its way home, and the House will wrap up votes later Thursday evening. Both chambers will begin their weeklong recess on Friday and are not expected to return to the Capitol until June 1.

Virginia Grace McKinnon | Journalism Fellow

Virginia Grace McKinnon is a journalism fellow for the Daily Signal.

Follow on X virginiagmck

Read the first chapter of The Woketopus right now for FREE

Today, even with President Trump’s victory, leftist elites have their tentacles in every aspect of our government.

The Daily Signal’s own Tyler O’Neil exposes this leftist cabal in his new book, The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.

In this book, O’Neil reveals how the Left’s NGO apparatus pursues its woke agenda, maneuvering like an octopus by circumventing Congress and entrenching its interests in the federal government.
You can read the first chapter of this new book for FREE in this eBook, The Woketopus: Chapter One using the secure link below.

GET MY FREE EBOOK