It’s not yet clear when Democrats and the White House will be able to finalize a deal to fully fund the agency, which has come under fire since the murders of Alex Preti and Renee Nicole Good.
Department of Homeland Security poised to shut down due to funding bill impasse
The United States is on the verge of another government shutdown. This time, only the Department of Homeland Security is at risk.
WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security is about to be shut down following a political deadlock in Congress over immigration enforcement.
This situation could indefinitely impact many Americans, including travelers, boaters, storm victims, and tens of thousands of Homeland Security employees. With negotiations between Democrats and the White House tenuous and slow, it is unclear how long the shutdown, which involves only a small but critical part of the federal government, will last.
Importantly, DHS includes the Transportation Security Administration, the federal government department most responsible for airport security. During last year’s record shutdown, many TSA agents slept in their cars, received eviction notices, lost childcare services and sold blood and plasma as their paychecks were delayed.
Although they were expected to continue working, TSA officer absenteeism increased and aircraft operations were disrupted. Delays and cancellations of air travel are also caused by air traffic control issues, but this will not happen this time as the shutdown is not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation.
Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeil told lawmakers on February 11 that the approximately 61,000 employees at more than 430 commercial airports affected by the new funding blunder cannot afford another funding blunder.
“Some businesses are still recovering from the economic impact of the 43-day closure,” she said. “We can’t let them go through that again. It’s outrageous.”
Despite this plea, Congress left town the next day without an agreement to fund DHS. DHS has come under increased scrutiny since federal agents killed two Minnesotans in separate incidents last month. The agency’s funding was scheduled to expire after Friday, February 13th.
Since 37-year-old Alex Preti was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent, Democrats have rallied around demands for reform of DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). They are calling for a ban on masks and stricter standards for the use of force, as well as mandatory body cameras and judicial warrants when searching people entering the country. Republicans say some of these demands are rudimentary, especially banning masks, which could lead to staff detention.
The government shutdown will force DHS to scale back operations and postpone paychecks to many employees. For example, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that the crisis would “significantly disrupt” states’ ability to reimburse states for disaster relief costs.
However, many of DHS’ law enforcement activities, including immigration enforcement, will continue. Lawmakers have noted in recent days that ICE, which typically continues to operate during shutdowns, already has surplus funds that could be tapped in connection with President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
Because the partial shutdown only applies to DHS, other services and programs affected during last year’s longest shutdown in history will be safe from political fallout. Food stamps, air traffic controllers, and the military (with the exception of the Coast Guard, which is under DHS) are not affected.
But as was the case with the government shutdown in 2025, the longer it lasts, the more Americans will suffer. Many members of Congress planned to spend the next week outside Washington, with some going to Germany for security conferences. Congress is not scheduled to take another vote until February 23.
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
