The current lapse in funding at the Department of Homeland Security entered new territory Sunday when it became the longest partial government shutdown in the history of the United States.
The DHS shutdown is now in its 44th day, breaking the previous recording when the department and the rest of the federal government were left without funding from October to mid-November. This time, the rest of the federal agencies and departments are funded.
Negotiations to reopen DHS suffered a major setback Friday after House Republicans voted pass a short-term funding bill that has no viable path in the Senate. This happened a few hours after the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to fund all of DHS, except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Republican leaders in the House of Representatives rejected the bill, with Speaker Mike Johnson calling it a “joke.”
The bill passed by the House to fund all of DHS is unlikely to become law. The Senate has repeatedly tried, unsuccessfully, to advance an identical bill since the shutdown began, failing to reach the 60-vote threshold required to advance it. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, requiring some buy-in from Democrats to advance the legislation. Democrats are demanding specific safeguards on immigration enforcement operations before supporting full funding of DHS, which includes enforcement of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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The shutdown, which began Feb. 14, is affecting travelers across the United States as some airport security lines have stretched for hours due to TSA staffing shortages. TSA agents did not receive paychecks during the standoff in Washington, although they showed up for work. This led hundreds of police officers to resign and thousands to stop working.
President Donald Trump signed an order Friday directing the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA workers, with paychecks expected as early as Monday, according to a DHS spokesperson.
ICE agents, some of whom are now stationed at airports in an effort to help the TSA, continued to receive their salaries during the DHS shutdown since they benefit from funding from Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that was signed into law last year.
Prospects for a quick end to the shutdown are unlikely. The Senate is scheduled to leave town until April 13 and the House until April 14.
