Congress is breaking the appropriations process 

As we reflect on the just-ended Department of Homeland Security funding impasse, we face a familiar problem. Such shutdowns occur because Congress struggles to assemble 60 votes in the Senate to pass contentious funding bills — in this case, those supporting core immigration enforcement functions.

Although the solution of shifting those funding decisions into the budget reconciliation process may have broken the stalemate, the long-term ramifications of that decision could potentially break something far more fundamental.

If the Senate cannot pass appropriations bills under its current rules, the answer is to address the rules, not to bypass the appropriations process altogether. Because this is about more than the filibuster. It is about how Congress exercises the power of the purse.

The appropriations process is one of the oldest and most structured functions in American governance. Rooted in the Constitution and refined over more than two centuries, it is designed to force tradeoffs into the open — through hearings, markups and bipartisan negotiation — and to ensure ongoing oversight of federal spending.

The Senate filibuster, in contrast, is a chamber rule. It evolved over time and was modified when the Senate concluded that other priorities warranted it. Whatever one’s view of the 60-vote threshold, it should not take precedence over the appropriations process itself.

That........

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