DHS shutdown continues

The Department of Homeland Security entered its eighth week of partial shutdown this weekend, even as the agency began ordering furloughed employees back to work. (nytimes.com, federalnewsnetwork.com) The funding lapse began at midnight on February 14, 2026, and by April 9 had stretched to 54 days, making it the longest partial shutdown of a federal agency in United States history. USA Today reported the next House vote to reopen the department could come on Tuesday, April 14, when lawmakers return for recorded votes. (usatoday.com, usatoday.com) The recall notice went out on Friday, April 10, telling all furloughed employees to report on their next scheduled workday, which for most workers is Monday, April 13. Federal News Network said the move follows a White House memorandum signed by President Donald Trump on April 3 directing the department to use available funding to cover lost compensation and benefits. (federalnewsnetwork.com, whitehouse.gov) Congress has not been stuck on the whole department. The Senate approved a bipartisan package on March 27 to fund most of Homeland Security while leaving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and part of Customs and Border Protection for a later fight over immigration enforcement policy. (politico.com) House leaders did not take up that Senate plan. The New York Times reported on April 2 that Speaker Mike Johnson had agreed to a deal to fund the department without immigration enforcement money, but the House still failed to advance it after opposition from hard-right Republicans. (nytimes.com) The shutdown has split the department into groups with different pay rules. The New York Times reported that more than 35,000 Homeland Security employees were set to receive paychecks on Friday, April 10, the first pay many had seen in weeks, while other workers still faced uncertainty over future checks. (nytimes.com) Transportation Security Administration officers were paid after the administration redirected money in late March, but employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, and civilian staffs at border and immigration agencies said they were still working unpaid or were furloughed. Federal News Network said about 800 employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, roughly 40% of that agency, were classified as excepted and kept working without pay. (federalnewsnetwork.com, politico.com) The Federal Emergency Management Agency has tied the lapse to disaster operations. In an April 2 statement, the department said more than 4,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency employees were not receiving pay, including more than 1,600 working without pay and more than 2,400 furloughed, while the Disaster Relief Fund was running low. (dhs.gov) Both parties have blamed each other for the standoff. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would not support more money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol without policy changes, while House Republicans said they had already passed a full-year Homeland Security funding bill and accused Senate Democrats of blocking it. (politico.com, appropriations.house.gov) For now, the partial shutdown is still legally in place even as more employees are told to come back and some payroll starts moving again. The unresolved question on Capitol Hill is whether lawmakers fund the whole department at once or keep separating disaster response, airport screening, and cybersecurity from immigration enforcement. (federalnewsnetwork.com, politico.com)