DHS funding still paused

The Department of Homeland Security is still partially shut down on April 12 after Congress let its funding lapse on February 14 and still has not cleared a final fix. (usgovshutdown.com) The Senate moved first on March 27, approving a bill to fund most of the department through September while leaving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and part of Customs and Border Protection for a separate fight. Senate Majority Leader John Thune then used a brief session on April 2 to send that plan back to the House. (politico.com) (usnews.com) The House has not taken it up. Speaker Mike Johnson faces resistance from conservatives who do not want to pass a bill that omits Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol funding, and Politico reported on April 2 that leaders were not planning to return members before April 14. (politico.com) The standoff turned on immigration enforcement, not airport screening or disaster response. Democrats said they would not approve more money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol without changes such as limits on masked agents, judicial warrants for immigration raids, and more body cameras. (politico.com) Most of the department did not stop working when the money ran out. Federal News Network reported in February that roughly 90% of the more than 260,000 Homeland Security employees were expected to keep working during a shutdown, many without pay. (federalnewsnetwork.com) That includes airport security. About 95% of the Transportation Security Administration’s 61,000 employees are classified as essential, so screeners kept staffing checkpoints even as lawmakers argued over a broader deal. (federalnewsnetwork.com) President Donald Trump tried to blunt the fallout on April 3, ordering the department and the Office of Management and Budget to use available funds to provide compensation and benefits to all Homeland Security employees during the lapse. The White House said more than 35,000 employees, including Coast Guard civilians, Federal Emergency Management Agency staff and cybersecurity workers, had gone without pay for nearly two months. (whitehouse.gov) That order eased pressure on Congress but did not reopen the department in legal terms. Reuters reported on April 2 that the Senate had cleared the way for a House vote, yet funding remained in limbo because the House adjourned without acting. (usnews.com) The next real test is when the House returns this week. If Johnson puts the Senate bill on the floor, he may need Democratic votes to pass it and end a shutdown that has already outlasted every previous federal agency funding lapse. (politico.com)