House Republicans on Friday voted down a bipartisan Senate proposal meant to end the partial government shutdown and restore pay for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers who have been working without pay. The Senate measure, approved unanimously in an early-morning vote, would have funded most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including TSA and the Coast Guard, while excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and portions of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Democrats have insisted they will not fund ICE and those parts of CBP without changes to immigration enforcement practices.
House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed the Senate bill as a “joke” and said Republicans will draft their own legislation to fully fund TSA, ICE and CBP. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer retorted that any such GOP bill would be “dead on arrival.”
With lawmakers at an impasse, President Donald Trump signed an executive action directing that TSA employees be paid. In a memo accompanying the action, Trump called the situation an emergency that threatened national security. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said TSA employees “should begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday.”
The funding dispute has disrupted airport operations and forced many travelers to endure long lines and delays. Community members and volunteers have stepped in to support unpaid agents, donating food and supplies as the standoff continued.
The central disagreement concerns ICE and parts of CBP. Democrats’ demands for policy changes intensified after deployments of armed federal agents—often to Democratic-run cities—led to chaotic encounters and, in some cases, violence. In January, two separate incidents involving ICE agents resulted in the deaths of two U.S. citizens—one unarmed and another who was legally carrying a firearm—occurring amid enforcement operations and clashes with protesters and bystanders. Those events strengthened Democrats’ calls to condition funding on changes to enforcement practices.
Before Friday, Democrats proposed funding individual agencies to prevent a prolonged lapse, but Trump instructed Congressional Republicans to reject piecemeal measures and press for full funding. He has tied consideration of other bills to the passage of his Save America Act, a voting-security proposal that would require a passport or birth certificate to vote; Democrats have criticized that bill as an attempt to disenfranchise voters.
As party leaders exchanged accusations, TSA workers continued to face financial strain, airports experienced operational disruptions, and key components of homeland security remained in limbo while the broader funding fight persisted. Edited by: Alex Berry, Sean Sinico, Wesley Dockery