The Department of Homeland Security is scheduled to shut down after the funding expires after Friday, February 13, citing immigration enforcement concerns. Lawmakers are leaving Washington for a scheduled recess.
Democrats used government shutdown threat to spur negotiations over DHS funding
Lawmakers are at odds over government funding for DHS amid widespread discontent over the killing of Alex Preti by Border Patrol agents.
WASHINGTON – Amid a partisan deadlock over federal immigration enforcement, the Senate failed on February 12 to advance a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, effectively ensuring the closure of the agency that oversees critical services Americans rely on, such as airport security and disaster relief.
The impasse marks an escalation in Democrats’ negotiating tactics with Congressional Republicans and White House officials, who have been in delicate talks over reforming 9/11 Cabinet agencies since the January killing of a second Minnesota nurse, Alex Preti, 37, by federal agents.
Losing funding to the agency would affect the Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency and others, resulting in cuts to services and many employees continuing to work without pay. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which Congress gave surplus funding to last year, will continue its operations.
The Coast Guard chief warned lawmakers at a Feb. 11 Congressional hearing that the Coast Guard must suspend all operations except those critical to national security and the protection of life and property.
“The shutdown is bad for morale,” said Lt. Gen. Thomas Allan, acting deputy commander. “Aviation survival technicians deploying from helicopters into dangerous oceans don’t have to worry about whether their families will be able to buy groceries this week.”
Over the past month, Democrats on Capitol Hill have been fiercely united in the national outcry over Preti’s shooting death at the hands of Border Patrol agents. Concerns over the incident quickly threw the bipartisan spending process into disarray, setting the stage for another high-stakes funding showdown that could soon jeopardize government programs, disrupt travel, and leave thousands of people temporarily without pay.
As part of a bipartisan agreement to end the recent partial shutdown, funding for DHS has been extended until Friday, February 13th. Lawmakers had hoped to buy time to reach a compromise on reforming ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
On February 4, Democrats announced a list of 10 demands, including banning federal employees from wearing masks, tightening standards for the use of force, and banning immigration enforcement operations in “sensitive locations” such as schools and churches.
“I will not support any bill that does not make any progress in reining in ICE,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor before the vote. “We simply want ICE to be held to the same standards that law enforcement agencies in cities across the country are already held to.”
White House officials have presented Democrats with a counter-proposal, but discussions are slow and tense. Still, Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said Republicans were negotiating in good faith.
“The White House continues to demonstrate its determination to take its own action,” he said, citing the Trump administration’s Feb. 12 decision to scale back immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota. “Democrats will never get everything on their wish list. That’s not going to work.”
The DHS shutdown could last at least a week as Congress goes into scheduled recess. Many senators are currently scheduled to depart for the Security Council in Munich, Germany.
During last year’s record-breaking shutdown, many TSA agents slept in their cars, received eviction notices, lost childcare services and sold their blood and plasma to pay their bills. Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeil told lawmakers on February 11 that the approximately 61,000 affected TSA employees at more than 430 commercial airports cannot repeat the experience.
“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.”
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him at @ZachSchermele on X and @zachschermele.bsky.social on Bluesky..
