Senate Democrats Push DHS Shutdown into Double Digits

Washington, D.C. – Today, the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security enters double digits. For ten days, DHS has been operating without appropriated funding, forcing workers in critical national security roles to work without pay. 

This didn't have to happen – Democrats shut the government down intending to hurt President Trump's effective immigration efforts, border wall construction, and removal operations, all of which have reserve funding from last year's OBBBA and will continue uninterrupted during this shutdown. 

Instead, Democrats are hurting American families. DHS houses multiple agencies critical to Americans' safety. The vast majority of these employees are required to work even during a government shutdown. The agencies impacted by this shutdown include: 

• The Coast Guard, whose maritime search and rescue, port security, drug interdiction patrols, and other critical missions are currently disrupted;
• The U.S. Secret Service, which continues to protect our President and government leaders without pay;
• CISA, whose cybersecurity personnel are stretched thin, potentially risking emergency communications, risk assessments, and our ability to defend hospitals, critical infrastructure, and more against cyberattacks;
• TSA, whose personnel are working without pay, causing potential delays at airports and increased security risks for air travelers; and
• FEMA, whose operations are limited while much of the country continues to experience severe winter storms, and a broken pipe continues to dump sewage into the Potomac River in our nation's capital. 

Last week's GDP report confirmed what Republicans predicted: the 43-day Democrat-led shutdown in October and November of 2025 dealt considerable damage to the economy, slowing growth. There are true, measurable consequences to these political games Democrats continue to play. 

This week, DHS announced new emergency measures they are taking to preserve the limited funds available during a shutdown, including halting non-disaster-related FEMA efforts and pausing Global Entry.

Morale for DHS employees is already taking a hit, with many employees still recovering from the 43 days they worked without pay last fall. Those same workers are now ten days into yet another shutdown with no end in sight. These are the men and women who protect Americans and keep our nation secure – from our ports of entry to our cybersecurity and infrastructure. 

This is not governance. It is political brinkmanship at the expense of economic stability and national security. Democrats were warned last October, and they ignored it. They are ignoring it again now.
 
The American people and our national security shouldn’t be used as political leverage.
 
Chairman Tom Cole said, “As more winter storms batter communities across the nation, FEMA is left with limited funding. As Secret Service agents stop a man breaching a secure perimeter, they are doing so without a paycheck. As TSA screens politicians returning to Washington, they stand watch without pay or stability. As the Coast Guard patrols our waters and protects our shores, its servicemembers remain on mission without knowing when they will be paid. And as CISA works to stop cyberattacks and hostile actors, critical personnel have been furloughed. Frontline DHS personnel are fulfilling their duty – while Senate Democrats refuse to uphold theirs. Chuck Schumer and his allies are so consumed by their hatred of President Trump that they would rather manufacture chaos than provide certainty to the very workforce that safeguards this nation every day. National security does not pause for politics. Storms do not wait. Threats do not wait. Bills and expenses do not wait. Yet Senate Democrats have chosen to make the security of the American people – and the livelihoods of DHS families – contingent on partisan demands. Once again, Senate Democrats are holding federal funding hostage because they care more about a left-wing primary voter than keeping government operating for the tax paying American. It’s time for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to return to the basic obligation of governing: keep the nation secure and fund the department charged with doing so.”
 
Background:

• Funding the government is a constitutional imperative.
• Shutdowns impact services across the nation and negatively harm economic growth.
• The House and Senate previously struck a bipartisan and bicameral deal to finalize all Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bills.
• The House acted expeditiously to pass these bills, marking historic progress for our appropriations process and progress to return to ‘regular order.’
• After helping negotiate the deal, Senate Democrats altered it at the last minute, undermining DHS funding.
• Shutting down DHS won’t achieve the immigration results Democrats are promising. Reconciliation investments will keep immigration enforcement and construction of a border wall moving.
• However, many other agencies and programs under DHS will suffer should the government shut down, including: the Coast Guard, TSA, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism efforts, FEMA, law enforcement training, and more.
• Chairman Cole has consistently made it clear that government shutdowns are reckless and harmful.
• Unlike Senate Democrats, who have abandoned their word and moved the goalposts on negotiated deals multiple times, he has provided steady leadership and advanced full-year funding through the House for all 12 appropriations bills.