The House of Representatives passed a stopgap funding measure for the Department of Homeland Security, but the government shutdown is expected to persist as lawmakers head into a two-week recess.
The House of Representatives approved a stopgap measure late Friday aimed at temporarily funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). However, the ongoing 43-day government shutdown is anticipated to extend for several more weeks as lawmakers depart Washington for the Easter recess.
The two-month funding extension passed by the House is likely to face significant challenges in the Senate, where any funding bill must secure a 60-vote threshold, necessitating support from a number of Democrats. Despite this, House GOP leadership remains steadfast in their belief that rejecting a Senate-passed deal and proposing an alternative DHS funding plan is the solution to the current impasse.
“We’re not going to split apart two of the most important agencies in the government and leave them hanging like that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., stated to reporters as he left the U.S. Capitol on Friday night. “We just couldn’t do it.”
Earlier in the day, Johnson criticized the Senate-passed deal during an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle,” asserting that House Republicans would not support measures that would reopen the border or halt illegal immigration enforcement. He pointed out that the Senate deal fell short of funding key agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and portions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Despite the House Republicans’ efforts to rally support for their bill, it appears that their calls for the Senate to reconvene are likely to go unheeded. A GOP aide remarked that “the easiest way to end this shutdown is for the House to pass the Senate-passed bill,” highlighting the challenges they face in garnering bipartisan support.
Senators left Washington, D.C., for a two-week Easter recess after unanimously approving a DHS funding measure early Friday morning, with some members traveling abroad for congressional delegations. House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain expressed disappointment, urging the Senate to return and take a vote on the funding measure. “That is what they were elected to do,” she said. “So they’re going to stay out on recess for two weeks and not come back while people don’t get paid. That’s pretty sad.”
Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, echoed McClain’s sentiments, calling for the Senate to return “immediately” to address the House-passed measure. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of DHS employees are left in limbo, working without pay during the ongoing shutdown.
In an effort to mitigate the financial strain on Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, President Donald Trump took executive action on Friday, directing DHS to utilize existing funds to pay those employees. Approximately 50,000 TSA agents have missed two full paychecks during the funding lapse, prompting hundreds to resign and others to face increasing financial difficulties.
While Trump’s action may help alleviate immediate concerns at TSA security checkpoints, senior officials have warned of potential long-term impacts due to the departure of over 500 agents during the funding lapse. Other DHS personnel, including those working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the U.S. Coast Guard, and certain support staff for ICE and CBP, will continue to have their paychecks withheld until funding is restored.
“Anybody who shows up to work deserves to get a paycheck, and the Senate needs to come back and at least do their job,” McClain told Fox News on Friday.
Democratic lawmakers are expected to place the blame for the ongoing impasse squarely on Republicans, particularly following Johnson’s decision to reject the Senate deal. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., stated on the House floor, “We’re here dealing with a partisan spending bill that the Senate has already indicated is dead on arrival. And so Republicans have taken the decision to own this shutdown decisively. There is no doubt.”
The short-term DHS funding measure passed by the House is a clean extension of government funding, devoid of any partisan policy riders. Trump also voiced his opposition to the bill during an interview with Fox News, noting that it does not include any of the reforms that Democrats have sought for six weeks to address immigration enforcement, such as tightening warrant requirements and prohibiting agents from wearing masks.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who has consistently warned that no one benefits from a government shutdown, indicated that Democrats are now less likely to achieve their demands than they were at the onset of the funding stalemate. “I mean, I think that ship has sailed, and they kind of kissed that opportunity goodbye by failing to provide funding for those agencies,” Thune remarked.
The ongoing standoff between the House and Senate underscores the complexities of bipartisan governance and the challenges of navigating funding disputes in a divided Congress. As lawmakers prepare for their recess, the fate of DHS funding—and the livelihoods of thousands of employees—remains uncertain.
According to Fox News, the situation continues to evolve as both parties grapple with the implications of the shutdown.