WASHINGTON — Last month, Senate Democrats halted a bill aimed at funding the Department of Homeland Security, leaving Transportation Security Administration employees on track to miss their initial paycheck this week. This marks the fourth occurrence of delays like this in just 30 days.
On Thursday, 46 Democratic senators opposed a temporary funding bill for the troubled department, which has experienced partial shutdowns since mid-February. They suggested separate voting for individual divisions, excluding the one that handles immigration enforcement.
Senator John Fetterman from Pennsylvania was the lone Democrat to side with 50 Republicans in favor of funding DHS.
Nonetheless, the bill failed to meet the 60 votes needed for approval.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) mentioned during a speech that Republicans have twice rejected plans to separately fund TSA, CISA, and FEMA.
“It’s been 58 days since the first continuing resolution was passed, and we haven’t really come together with the Republican Party and the White House to figure out a way forward,” remarked Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.), involved in negotiations regarding the funding package.
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who is the top Democratic appropriator in the Senate, highlighted her party’s pursuit for a clearer understanding of the White House’s proposals concerning DHS reform.
Senate Democrats are advocating for a measure that would prevent federal immigration officers from wearing masks during enforcement actions and would also mandate identification and the use of body cameras.
They further propose that investigators need judicial warrants to enter private property while pursuing suspects.
Currently, ICE and CBP are still equipped with surplus funds from a significant spending bill that Republicans enacted last July, which means that Democrats haven’t yet directly curtailed immigration enforcement.
Despite 95% of TSA employees continuing to work at security checkpoints daily, negotiations remain stagnant, with almost 43% of positions furloughed during the 2026 fiscal year.
In a speech, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized that Republicans have declined to support separate funding for TSA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on two occasions.
“Democrats believe ICE should function like any other law enforcement agency in the U.S.—using warrants and not wearing masks,” Schumer stated, describing agents as a “predatory force.”
“The public is on our side. All Republicans need to do is step aside, and we can fund these programs starting now, resolving the airport issue,” he added.
In response, Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) addressed Schumer, pointing out, “Democrats have had many chances before, and they have another opportunity today to fund all the agencies he just mentioned.”
Thune also noted, “There have been various offers made, the most recent about two weeks ago from the White House, but Democrats haven’t shown a willingness to respond.”
Earlier, Congressional Democrats had voted against a DHS funding bill in protest of two shooting deaths involving DHS officers in Minnesota two months ago.
In this incident, preemptive actions led to the shooting of Alex Preti by Customs and Border Protection agents, while Renee Good was shot by an ICE officer during a separate altercation.
Republicans have sought a federal inquiry into these shootings, with calls for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arising earlier this year.
Last week, President Trump announced that Noem would leave her position at DHS at the end of March after providing misleading testimony on Capitol Hill regarding a significant ad campaign focused on mass deportations.
