The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown is now the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history. The shutdown leaves thousands of federal employees working without pay while Congress takes a two-week recess.
Lawmakers are not scheduled to return until mid-April, at which point the lapse in DHS funding will approach two months.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 31 directing federal officials to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees, following major disruptions at airports nationwide. TSA employees should begin getting paychecks today.
However, employees at other DHS components, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Coast Guard, are still working without compensation.
“I have never been more disgusted by the failure of elected leadership in my life,” American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National President Everett Kelley said in a statement.
“Though TSA officers will be paid, FEMA workers, Coast Guard, CISA, and other DHS employees are waiting on their back pay,” Kelley said. “These are American fathers and mothers and sons and daughters who serve our country every single day. And Congress left them without a paycheck and went on a two-week paid vacation on our dime.”
On Capitol Hill, the path forward remains unclear. On Friday, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would fund DHS, minus U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Later that same day, House Republicans voted 213-203 to fund the entirety of DHS for two months. The result is a stalemate with little indication of near-term resolution.
The shutdown began on Feb. 14 after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on DHS appropriations. Negotiations collapsed over disputes tied to immigration enforcement policy.