Washington Roundup: DHS funding deal fails again; housing bill advances; Cuba’s Trump talks
WASHINGTON (OSV News) — A measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security failed in the Senate as negotiations over new, stronger constraints on federal immigration officers stalled.
The same week, the Senate passed housing legislation that has an uncertain future in the House, and President Miguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba acknowledged talks with the Trump administration following its strikes in Iran.
DHS funding remains lapsed
DHS employees, including Transportation Security Administration agents, are among those who will miss paychecks this week as Congress remains at an impasse over funding for the department.
A fourth attempt by Senate Republicans to end the partial shutdown failed on March 12 in a 51-46 vote with Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania as the lone Democrat to support the bill.
In January, lawmakers ended a brief, partial government shutdown, agreeing to pass most outstanding appropriations bills but only a two-week extension for DHS to allow negotiations for reforms regarding federal immigration officers after federal agents killed two American citizens in Minnesota in separate incidents.
Funding for DHS has been lapsed since Feb. 13 amid disagreement on what those new constraints would entail.
In a Feb. 24 statement issued shortly before President Donald Trump’s state of the Union address, a group of U.S. bishops, most from the U.S.-Mexico border region, urged several reforms to immigration enforcement, including that sensitive locations such as houses of worship, schools, and hospitals, are protected from enforcement actions.
Housing bill faces uncertain future
The Senate passed the most significant piece of housing legislation in nearly four decades as lawmakers seek to grapple with a major affordability issue before the midterms. But the bill faces an uncertain future in the House.
The bill, The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, introduced by Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., passed the upper chamber in a 89 to 10 vote. It aims to increase the supply of new housing by removing certain regulatory barriers, providing incentives for construction, among other steps to preserve the existing housing supply. It would also largely ban large corporate investors from competing with individual buyers for existing single-family homes.
Housing policy analysts previously told OSV News that corporate investors buying single-family homes represent a relatively small share of U.S. housing supply.
However, the path for the legislation is unclear in the House, where some Republicans have argued they prefer the House’s version, pointing to a provision related to digital currency.
In a March 13 email to its supporters, Catholic Charities USA, the network organization dedicated to carrying out the domestic humanitarian work of the Catholic Church in the U.S., said it “applauded the bill’s focus on housing supply and development,” but also “would have preferred more attention to dealing with homelessness.”
In an October 2025 letter to members of Congress in support of the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of Philadelphia, on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops‘ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, wrote that the Catholic Church “recognizes housing as a basic human right that must be available to all families and individuals.”
“Right now, far too many of our neighbors are struggling to access this right,” his letter said. It urged lawmakers to consider steps to increase the supply of affordable and quality housing and reduce housing instability and poverty.
In a March 2 statement of administration policy, the White House indicated Trump supports the Senate’s version of the housing bill. But Trump has also indicated that he will not sign any bills into law unless Republicans in Congress pass the SAVE America Act, which would implement further proof of citizenship and photo identification requirements for voter registration, among other actions.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has promised a vote on the SAVE America Act, but has warned the bill is not likely to overcome a filibuster.
Cuban president acknowledges talks with Trump administration
The Trump administration has recently escalated its rhetoric regarding the Communist government of the Caribbean island.
The talks are seen as a last-ditch effort to avoid hostilities with the U.S. following actions taken by the Trump administration including the removal of deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power and major combat operations against Iran in concert with Israel.
Díaz-Canel said in a speech broadcast on Cuban state media that “these talks have been aimed at finding solutions, through dialogue, to the bilateral differences between our two nations. International factors, he said, have facilitated these exchanges.”
The same week, Cuba’s government said it planned to pardon dozens of prisoners in the spirit of Holy Week. Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni confirmed March 13 that there have been recent discussions between the Holy See and Cuban authorities “regarding the release” of prisoners.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
The post Washington Roundup: DHS funding deal fails again; housing bill advances; Cuba’s Trump talks first appeared on OSV News.
