The US Senate has failed for the seventh time to advance a bill to partially fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has been shut down for nearly six weeks. The 53-47 vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to proceed, with only Democratic Senator John Fetterman crossing party lines to support the measure. Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed a motion to reconsider, allowing the bill to be brought up again.
The vote came hours after President Donald Trump announced he would sign an executive order directing DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents affected by the shutdown. Trump described the move on Truth Social as a way to 'quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,' though Thune acknowledged it was 'a short-term solution.' The order could ease immediate pressure on Congress as it heads into a scheduled two-week recess.
Lawmakers remain deadlocked over funding for DHS subagencies, including the TSA, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa), US Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). Republicans proposed a bill to fund these agencies but withhold money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement operations, while Democrats demanded stronger guardrails on federal immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by officers in Minneapolis in January.
At a House hearing, acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill warned that airports are experiencing historic wait times, with TSA employees missing a cumulative $1bn in paychecks this fiscal year. 'Some are sleeping in their cars, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to make ends meet,' she said, adding that at least 40% of TSA staff are not reporting to work. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that nearly 500 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began.
The House passed a GOP-drafted bill to reopen the DHS for a third time with a 218-206 vote, with four Democrats supporting it. Senate Republicans hope to pass remaining funding for ICE, the administration's military campaign against Iran and portions of the Save America Act through reconciliation, which requires only a simple majority. Democrats countered with a measure linking DHS funding to immigration enforcement reforms, which GOP lawmakers quickly dismissed.
