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After a contentious political battle over funding of the embattled Homeland Security Agency, President Obama signed the bill on Wednesday, therefore funding DHS.

“I want to thank members of Congress for getting us a bill that will ensure that we can continue to fund he extraordinary work of our men and women at the Department Homeland Security,” Obama said. “They keep us safe every single day and we want to make sure that they’ve got the resources and support they need to do the job.”

In a statement Tuesday — shortly after the House passed the long-stalled bill — Obama said that homeland security officials “work to secure our borders, respond to disasters, guard our coasts, protect our cybersecurity, and keep our ports and airports safe — they’re law enforcement professionals and brave patriots who do a remarkable job, and deserve our gratitude and respect.”

Republicans wanted to deny funding for Homeland security in response to the president’s executive action on immigration he issued last November over deportations.