Sneaky Senate Sellout Reaches ‘Deal’ to End DHS Shutdown-Knifes Party

Leave a CommentSneaky Senate Sellout Reaches ‘Deal’ to End DHS Shutdown-Knifes PartyGovernment

What exactly is the DHS?

The Department of Homeland Security is a major federal agency responsible for key everyday services like:

  • Airport security (TSA — the agents who check your bags and scan passengers)
  • Disaster relief (FEMA)
  • Coast Guard operations
  • Immigration and border enforcement (including ICE and Customs and Border Protection)

Why did parts of it shut down?

Every year, Congress must pass bills to fund government agencies. In early 2026, lawmakers couldn’t agree on a funding bill for the DHS. The main sticking point was immigration enforcement. Democrats wanted stronger oversight and rules on how border agents and ICE operate. Republicans wanted more funding and fewer restrictions for deportations and border security. Because of the deadlock, parts of the DHS ran out of money and entered a partial shutdown around mid-February 2026. This dragged on for about six weeks.

What problems did it cause?

  • Airports were hit hardest: TSA screeners worked without regular paychecks for weeks. Many called out sick or left their jobs, leading to extremely long security lines, flight delays, and chaos for travelers.
  • Other services, like some disaster aid and Coast Guard work, were also strained.
  • Hundreds of thousands of federal workers were affected, unsure when they would get paid.

It became one of the longer partial shutdowns focused on a single department, and it frustrated people on both sides of the aisle.

What happened on March 26–27, 2026?

  • President Trump acted first: On March 26, he announced he would sign an executive order telling the new DHS Secretary to immediately pay TSA agents using other available funds. The goal was to ease the airport chaos and get more screeners back to work right away.
  • The Senate reached a deal: In the early hours of March 27 (around 2 a.m.), the Senate unanimously passed a bill to fund most of the DHS. This includes TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and other core operations. It leaves out full funding for the most disputed immigration enforcement parts (mainly ICE’s large-scale deportation operations).
  • HOWEVER Only five senators were present on the floor: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Bernie Moreno (R-OH, who was presiding). No quorum was formally challenged, which is allowed under Senate rules. The bill funds key agencies like TSA (to address unpaid workers and airport delays during the partial shutdown), FEMA, Coast Guard, CISA, and other DHS components. And, it deliberately excludes new funding for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (core deportation activities) and certain parts of CBP (border enforcement). This came after weeks of partisan stalemate over a ~42-day partial DHS shutdown: Democrats had blocked full funding without reforms to ICE/CBP tactics, while Republicans had resisted carving them out.

The Senate then recessed for its two-week Easter break (with pro forma sessions to block recess appointments). The measure now heads to the House.

Important nuance on “unfunded”:ICE and CBP are not entirely defunded. They continue operating on prior-year base budgets plus substantial supplemental funding (including from the 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill” reconciliation package, which provided billions through 2029). The bill simply omits the routine FY2026 appropriation slice ($5–6 billion) specifically for ICE enforcement/removals in this package. No Democratic reforms to ICE/CBP were included in the final deal.

This procedural move—thin attendance, late-night timing, unanimous consent—drew criticism for lacking transparency, especially right before recess. Both parties had blocked alternatives earlier in the standoff. The exclusion of fresh ICE/CBP enforcement money aligns with long-standing Democratic demands in these talks, even as Republicans control the Senate and White House.

In summary: The event, timing, attendance, lack of objection, and deliberate carve-out for ICE/CBP funding in this specific bill all match the description. The broader shutdown fight was highly contentious, with blame on both sides for prior blocks.

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for a vote. If the House approves it and the President signs it, most of the shutdown effects would end for those funded areas.

Why is this considered a compromise?

It keeps essential services (especially airport security) running without giving either political side everything they wanted. Republicans plan to push for the excluded immigration funding later through a separate process that doesn’t require Democratic support. Democrats succeeded in separating out the controversial immigration money, at least temporarily.

What happens next?

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