The ongoing funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security crossed into new territory Sunday when it became the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history.
The DHS shutdown is now in its 44th day, breaking the previous record when the department and the rest of the federal government went without funding from October until mid-November. This time around, the rest of the federal agencies and departments are funded.
Negotiations to reopen DHS were dealt a major setback Friday after House Republicans voted to pass a short-term funding bill that has no viable path in the Senate. That came hours after the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to fund all of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. House GOP leadership rejected the bill, with Speaker Mike Johnson calling it “a joke.”
The House-passed bill to fund all of DHS is not likely to become law. The Senate has repeatedly tried and failed to advance an identical bill since the shutdown began, falling short of the 60-vote threshold required to push it forward. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, requiring some Democratic buy-in to advance legislation. Democrats are demanding specific guardrails on immigration enforcement operations before supporting full funding for DHS, which includes ICE.
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The shutdown, which began Feb. 14, is affecting travelers across the U.S. as some airport security lines have stretched for hours due to TSA staffing shortages. TSA officers have not been paid for working during the standoff in Washington despite showing up for work. That’s led to hundreds of officers quitting and thousands calling out of work.
President Donald Trump signed an order Friday directing the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA workers, with paychecks expected to land as early as Monday, according to a DHS spokesperson.
ICE agents, some of whom are now stationed at airports in an effort to help TSA, have continued to receive pay during the DHS shutdown since they’re drawing on funding from Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that was signed into law last year.
The prospects of a quick end to the shutdown are unlikely. The Senate is scheduled to be out of town until April 13, and the House is set to be out until April 14.
