DHS shutdown hits eight weeks

The Department of Homeland Security has been partially shut down since February 14, and by April 11 the standoff had stretched into an eighth week with no deal in place. (nytimes.com) The fight started over how to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, two Homeland Security agencies at the center of immigration enforcement. Senate Democrats have refused to back full funding without new limits and oversight, while Republicans have pushed to keep the agencies operating without those conditions. (cbsnews.com) The shutdown began after lawmakers let Homeland Security funding lapse on February 14. On March 12, the Senate again failed to move a funding bill, 51 to 46, because it fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance. (cbsnews.com) The dispute has outlasted the previous federal shutdown record. Politico reported on March 23 that the lapse was on track to pass the 43-day record set last fall, and by April 13 the House calendar showed the department would be entering Day 59. (politico.com) (house.gov) Homeland Security is not one office. It includes the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and immigration agencies, so a funding lapse reaches airports, disaster response, cybersecurity, and border operations at the same time. (time.com) The White House moved to ease one visible problem after unpaid Transportation Security Administration officers produced long airport lines. Time reported on April 3 that President Donald Trump directed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and budget director Russell Vought to use existing funds to pay Transportation Security Administration officers, and the department said most staffers began receiving retroactive pay that week. (time.com) That did not reopen the whole department. Time reported that other agencies were still unfunded in early April, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where more than 4,000 staff members were not receiving wages, and offices tied to terrorism prevention and cyber defense were also affected. (time.com) Republican leaders and the White House announced a two-step plan on April 1 to fund most of Homeland Security through September while moving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol money later through budget reconciliation, which can pass the Senate with a simple majority. The Associated Press reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune backed that approach. (apnews.com) But House Republicans were split over even that fallback. The Hill reported on April 2 that some House Republicans wanted immigration enforcement funding locked in first and warned they would not support the Senate bill for the rest of the department without that assurance. (thehill.com) The shutdown has also hit oversight inside the department. NBC News reported on April 10 that roughly 85% of audits by the Homeland Security inspector general were on pause, including reviews of detention facilities, possible excessive force in immigration enforcement, and no-bid contracts. (nbcnews.com) As of April 12, the House clerk said the chamber’s next meeting was scheduled for April 13 at 2:30 p.m., and the Republican cloakroom listed that session as pro forma, a brief meeting that usually does not handle major legislation. That left the Homeland Security shutdown still unresolved heading into its ninth week. (house.gov) (repcloakroom.house.gov)