A record-long 75-day partial government shutdown ended Thursday after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security, securing paychecks for TSA workers, Coast Guard officers, and other agencies.
The bill’s passage comes just before a crucial deadline.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned lawmakers the government would run out of emergency funding to maintain payments to DHS workers by May.
It sparked fears that airport security lines would return to extremely long wait times, government employees would resort to donating blood to pay their bills and FEMA would be unable to properly respond to natural disasters, among other concerns.
The House-approved bill will fund most DHS agencies, excluding immigration enforcement, through September.
While the bill passed Thursday does not fund ICE or Border Patrol, a separate funding process, called reconciliation, has already begun, which will allow for swift approval of legislation to fund immigration enforcement. Republicans will not need Democrats on board, so long as most of the GOP agrees to the bill.
Congress began drafting the reconciliation package this week – directing congressional committees to draft a budget that will provide $70 billion for ICE and Border Patrol for the next three years.
The department initially lost funding in mid-February after Democrats refused to pass a bill unless Republicans added language that would create more regulations around immigration enforcement.
Negotiations consistently stalled, leading to dire circumstances for DHS employees – many of whom are forced to show up to work without pay due to their security-related status.
TSA workers began calling out of work at record numbers, leaving airports severely understaffed. Airport security wait times exceeded four hours at some airports.
Coast Guard leadership warned that the financial strain on officers meant they were less focused on military operations.
FEMA had activated its Immediate Needs Funding after its primary source of disaster relief funding dipped below its $3 billion threshold – just before hurricane season.
Last month, the Senate approved a funding bill that excluded immigration enforcement agencies to appease Democrats while allowing other agencies to receive funding, much to the anger of House Republicans.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson declined to take up the bill because it did not provide funding to the agencies responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s key agenda.
Congress then took a two-week recess, leaving DHS in limbo. To mitigate the impacts of the shutdown, Trump signed an executive order ensuring all DHS employees received paychecks – but that funding was about to run out.
Johnson reversed his position this week, amid the reconciliation process, after the president urged Republican lawmakers to pass the bill.
“We got the budget resolution passed, this is very, very important because that will ensure that border security and immigration enforcement will continue today and well into the future,” Johnson told reporters Thursday afternoon.
The bill will now head to President Donald Trump’s desk for signing.
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