Trailblazing coach Eta could influence Champions League battle after Bayern's Bundesliga title

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Pioneering coach Marie-Louise Eta has a chance to influence the battle for Champions League spots in the Bundesliga as her Union Berlin team takes on third-place Leipzig on Friday.

After Bayern Munich wrapped up the title last week, the focus shifts to a host of teams behind in a vibrant and often surprising fight for the top four places.

Runner-up Borussia Dortmund can seal a Champions League spot this weekend, while it could be a nervous few weeks for teams like Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen.

That's especially true because Germany could yet land an extra Champions League spot for the fifth-place team by overhauling Spain on UEFA's “European performance spot” ranking. That would depend on strong showings by Bayern in the Champions League and Freiburg in the Europa League.

Eta stayed upbeat after a 2-1 loss to Wolfsburg in her historic first game as head coach, and there were positives. Union created plenty of chances but just didn't convert them. Leipzig will be a tougher challenge Friday. Ole Werner's team is on a four-game winning run and looking to return to the Champions League after missing out this season.

The Rhine derby between Leverkusen and Cologne is always a standout game. This time it could play a big role in determining whether Leverkusen gets a Champions League spot, and potentially whether Kasper Hjulmand gets another season as Leverkusen coach.

A win for Dortmund against Freiburg on Sunday will make sure of a Champions League spot for next season, regardless of whether there are four or five places for German teams.

Harry Kane's charge for the single-season Bundesliga scoring record may be over, with Vincent Kompany increasingly minded to rest him for Champions League and German Cup runs, Nicolas Jackson has stepped up with goals in Bayern's last two Bundesliga games.

Hoffenheim forward Fisnik Asllani is having a breakout season with nine goals and eight assists in the Bundesliga. More goal contributions against Hamburger SV on Saturday could strengthen his team's Champions League push.

Young striker Dzenan Pejcinovic has found form when it matters to revive Wolfsburg, scoring in its last two games as the relegation-threatened team prepares to face Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday. It makes a chance from scoring at the wrong time. His first goals of the season were a hat trick in a losing cause, then the consolation goal in an 8-1 loss.

Bayern and Germany forward Serge Gnabry ruled himself out of the rest of the season, World Cup included, in a social media post Wednesday after a muscle tear in training.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates after scoring during their German Bundesliga soccer match against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)

Leverkusen's Robert Andrich celebrates after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Leipzig's Conrad Harder, center, Yan Diomande, left, and David Raum celebrate their side's third goal of the game during the German Bundesliga soccer game between Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Florian Wiegand/dpa via AP)

New head coach of German Bundesliga soccer club 1. FC Union Berlin Marie-Louise Eta reacts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Union Berlin and Wolfsburg in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate took the first steps in a new effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security early Thursday, voting to adopt a budget plan that would fund ICE and Border Patrol over Democratic objections and sending it to the House.

The entire department has been shut down since mid-February as Democrats have demanded policy changes in the wake of fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents. Republicans are now trying to fund the two agencies through the complicated, time-consuming process called budget reconciliation, a maneuver that they also used to pass President Donald Trump’s package of tax and spending cuts last year with no Democratic votes.

“We have a multistep process ahead of us, but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America's borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

The budget process only requires a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules that require Republicans to find 60 votes on most bills when they only hold 53 seats. But it also comes with increased scrutiny from the Senate parliamentarian and a long, open-ended series of amendment votes at the beginning and the end of the process.

The Senate held the first series of votes through the night, starting Wednesday evening and into early Thursday morning, with Democrats proposing amendments to lower health care expenses and other costs in an effort to contrast with Republicans’ focus on Trump’s campaign of immigration enforcement.

“Instead of pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into ICE and Border Patrol, Republicans should be working with Democrats to lower out-of-pocket costs,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Once the House approves the framework and the Senate Parliamentarian approves it, the two chambers can then move to pass the measure.

The Senate has already voted on a bipartisan basis to reopen the rest of the department, but Republican leaders in the House say they won’t take that bill up until the Senate shows progress toward funding ICE and Border Patrol, as well.

The $70 billion budget resolution would fund the two agencies for three years, through the rest of Trump’s term. Thune and other GOP leaders say they hope to keep the bill narrowly focused on ICE and Border Patrol and get it to Trump’s desk by the end of the month, along with the rest of Homeland Security Department funding that has already passed the Senate.

But that could prove difficult as many in the party see the budget bill as the last real chance this year to enact their priorities. Republicans in both the Senate and House have pushed to add other items, including money for farmers and Trump’s proof of citizenship voting bill, called the SAVE America Act.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., briefly held up the vote series late Wednesday, frustrated that the bill would not include parts of the SAVE America Act or other legislation.

“This is the last train leaving the station,” Kennedy said, predicting they would not be able to pass any other major bills ahead of November's midterm elections. But he withdrew his objections and allowed the voting to proceed.

Democrats say any funding bill for the Homeland Security Department should place restraints on federal immigration authorities, including better identification for federal officers and more use of judicial warrants, among other asks.

After federal agents shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, Trump agreed to a Democratic request that the Homeland Security bill be separated from a larger spending measure that became law. But bipartisan negotiations went nowhere, and the DHS funding lapsed with no agreement on changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.

In March, the Senate passed the legislation by voice vote that would separate out ICE and Border Patrol and fund the rest of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration as security lines grew long at some airports. But Republicans in the House refused to consider it, saying they wouldn’t support any bill that didn’t include money for immigration enforcement.

Congress then left town for a two-week recess, leaving the issue unresolved. Trump has used executive orders to pay some department salaries in the meantime, but the future of those paychecks is uncertain.

During the recess, Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that they would pursue a two-track approach — pass the Senate bill that includes most of the department’s funding through regular order and use the party-line bill to pass ICE and CBP funding.

Weeks later, though, Johnson has still not said when the House will take up the Senate’s legislation that would the rest of the department. And it is unclear if members of his GOP conference will unite behind the narrowed budget bill as some House Republicans have argued, like Sen. Kennedy, that they should add other priorities to the legislation.

Johnson said this week that the sequencing of the two bills is important. House lawmakers don't want to see the rest of the department funded without ICE and Border Patrol, he said.

“We’ll get there,” Johnson said. "Just stay tuned.”

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., center, speaks with a reporter, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., holds a news conference about the budget process that Republicans hope will fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., flanked by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., left, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., speaks to reporters following a closed-door party meeting, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)