DHS funding still stalled
Congress did not vote on a bill to end the Department of Homeland Security funding lapse and the House adjourned without action, pushing a next opportunity to act to 12 p.m. on Monday, April 20 (usatoday.com). Local reporting says pressure is building on leaders but key disagreements remain unresolved as emergency operations continue under the lapse (delawareonline.com).
The House left Washington early Friday without voting on a bill to restore Department of Homeland Security funding, leaving the lapse in place until at least its next meeting at noon on Monday, April 20. (clerk.house.gov) The House clerk’s floor summary says lawmakers adjourned at 2:10 a.m. on April 17 and scheduled the next meeting for 12:00 p.m. on April 20, 2026. House schedules posted this week showed the chamber in a district work period rather than a full legislative stretch. (clerk.house.gov) (house.gov) The shutdown began when Department of Homeland Security funding lapsed at midnight on February 14, 2026, and it has now stretched past nine weeks. National Public Radio reported this week that the stalemate has lasted more than 60 days. (usgovshutdown.com) (npr.org) The fight is no longer about whether to fund the department at all, but how. Politico reported on March 27 that the Senate advanced a bipartisan bill to fund most of Homeland Security through September while leaving out Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol and some other Customs and Border Protection functions, and House Republicans rejected that approach. (politico.com) House Republicans instead passed a short-term extension through May 22 on a 213-203 vote on March 27, with three Democrats joining all Republicans. Politico reported that Senate leaders gave no sign that measure could pass their chamber. (politico.com) A funding lapse does not mean every Homeland Security operation stops. The department’s own shutdown plan says it can keep “exempt” work going, including law enforcement and maritime protection, while shutting down non-exempt functions. (dhs.gov) That is why airport screening, Coast Guard missions and other safety work have continued even as pay and staffing problems spread. The Coast Guard said active-duty personnel and excepted civilian employees still report for duty, while furloughed civilian workers are placed in non-pay, non-duty status. (mycg.uscg.mil) Some payroll pressure has eased for airport screeners. Time reported on April 3 that Transportation Security Administration officers began receiving paychecks after President Donald Trump directed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to use existing funds for TSA pay. (time.com) Other parts of the department are still operating under strain. Time reported that thousands of Federal Emergency Management Agency employees were still going unpaid and that terrorism prevention, cybersecurity and grant programs were being affected as the lapse dragged on. (time.com) (appropriations.senate.gov) Monday’s noon session is the next formal opening for House action, but it is scheduled as a pro forma meeting during recess, which usually lasts only minutes and often includes no votes. Unless leaders call lawmakers back for full legislative business or strike a deal that both chambers can pass, Homeland Security will remain in shutdown procedures when the gavel comes down again. (clerk.house.gov) (c-span.org)
