Arrington urges reconciliation to secure multiyear Homeland Security funding for ICE and CBP
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Summary
House Budget Committee Chairman Jody Arrington told interviewers lawmakers should use reconciliation to fund Homeland Security—either the whole department or targeted agencies such as ICE and CBP—for multiple years to prevent future shutdown leverage.
Jody Arrington, House Budget Committee chairman, said Congress should prioritize getting the Department of Homeland Security funded and suggested using the reconciliation process to lock in multiyear funding for DHS or for specific agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Why it matters: Arrington framed the recent DHS shutdown as "disastrous" and argued a multiyear reconciliation solution would remove political leverage in future budget fights. "We can use reconciliation to do it," he said, adding that doing so could cover operations related to Iran and broader war readiness while pursuing offsets by cutting "a boatload of waste."
Arrington outlined options: fund the whole Homeland Security Department through reconciliation, or fund ICE and CBP specifically, and do so for multiple years to avoid repeated shutdown threats. He described reconciliation as a tool to secure funding without needing Democratic votes in the Senate for certain budget items.
No formal proposal or bill text was presented in the interview, and Arrington did not state exact dollar figures or legislative language. The discussion was declarative and strategic rather than legislative action.
