Senate Rejects DHS Funding Bill for Fourth Time; Partial Department Shutdown Nears One-Month Mark

The Senate on Thursday again failed to advance a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, rejecting the measure by a 51-to-46 vote and marking the fourth time the chamber has blocked DHS appropriations as a partial shutdown nears one month.

Newsweek reported that the Senate rejected the bill 51 to 46 as the partial department shutdown neared the one-month mark, while The New York Times said the vote failed as the standoff approached a second month and described the outcome as falling well short of the 60 votes required to advance the bill.

New York Times

Together the coverage underscores that the chamber remains deadlocked and that procedural thresholds — not simple majorities — have prevented the measure from moving forward.

The impasse stems from Democrats’ insistence on significant new restrictions on federal immigration officers after deadly encounters earlier this year, and Republicans’ refusal to decouple DHS funding from broader departmental appropriations.

Newsweek identified a clash over reforms to ICE and Customs and Border Protection following "federal agents' deadly shootings in January of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis," while The New York Times detailed that Democrats have "refusing to back money for the agency without significant new restrictions on federal immigration officers" and have dug in after the deaths by insisting on measures such as limits on masked officers, body cameras and warrant requirements.

Newsweek

Operational consequences are mounting: TSA officers face missed paychecks, airports have seen longer security lines, and multiple DHS components remain underfunded.

Newsweek warned that "TSA agents are about to miss their first full paycheck this week" and noted intensified airport delays, while The New York Times said the outcome left "agencies including the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard and a federal cybersecurity office" without funding and that thousands of employees would continue to be without paychecks since Feb. 14; the Times also reported that airports continued to experience "security line backups."

Lawmakers have traded procedural tactics and competing proposals as pressure mounts to break the deadlock, with Democrats offering targeted funding for TSA and Republicans urging full-department funding.

The New York Times described Democrats’ recent floor efforts "to propose funding T.S.A. and other branches of the Department of Homeland Security separately" and quoted Senator Jacky Rosen: "Let’s not have T.S.A. officers in the middle of this fight," while Republicans countered that piecemeal funding was unfair and pressed to "fund the whole department," as Senator Bernie Moreno put it.

New York Times

Newsweek noted procedural maneuvers as well, reporting that "Thune voted against the measure for procedural reasons," a move framed as allowing leaders to bring the vote back later.

The standoff is unfolding amid election-year and security concerns, with both parties seeking to blame the other and Republicans warning of elevated risks.

“In a vote on Thursday, the Senate rejected a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a fourth time, 51 to 46, as the partial department shutdown nears the one-month mark”

Newsweek

The New York Times described mounting tensions as both parties "have been maneuvering to try to shift the responsibility — and the blame — to the other," and reported Republicans saying the need to restore DHS funding was acute given the military assault on Iran and "the possibility of retaliatory terror attacks," quoting Senator John Barrasso: "All warning lights are flashing red."

Newsweek

Newsweek and Senate leaders also highlighted political messaging, with Homeland Security's X account and Senate leaders trading accusations about who is forcing TSA officers to work without pay.