No end in sight for DHS shutdown
Lawmakers expected to be away for several days
By: Zachary Schermele
USA Today
WASHINGTON - A federal agency critical to air travel and disaster relief is mired in a funding crisis - and there's no immediate end in sight.
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Lawmakers recessed from Capitol Hill on February 13 [2026] just before a partial government shutdown reached the Department of Homeland Security. Influential senators jetted off to Munich for a security conference. Some were still overseas for Presidents Day, while other lawmakers went back to their home districts.
..... With members of Congress still away, the likelihood of bring a swift resolution to the funding impasse is low. Since federal immigration enforcement officers killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good in two separate incidents in Minneapolis in January, [2026] Democrats have been demanding that the White House and congressional Republicans accede to a list of remorse for DHS.
..... "Just look at every police department across the country. They don't walk around in masks," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said February 15 [2026] on CNN. "they don't walk around unidentified."
..... But trump administration officials and GOP leaders have publicly said some of the Democrats' asks are nonstarters, including a proposed ban on mask-wearing.
..... They argue masks help to prevent agents form being doxed. The White House and Democrats have continued negotiating but those talks weren't quick or productive enough to prevent the funding lapse form starting February 14. [2026]
..... "Clearly, if they wanted a solution, they would at least allow additional time to negotiate," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said February 12 [2026] on Fox News, referring to Democrats.
..... Even if the White House and Democrats manage to reach an agreement, it would take several days for lawmakers to return to Washington. They're scheduled to be recessed for a full week, with the next Senate vote not set to take place until February 23. [2026]
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Trump's State of the Union address - the first of his second term - is scheduled for the following night, February 24. [2026]
..... Despite the shutdown, much few DHS is still working.
..... Officials have said they can tap into a funding surplus for Immigration and Customs Enforcement for an indefinite period of time. TSA employees are still manning airport lines, thorough without pay. and the Coast Guard remains on the job, though it has scaled back activities to its most critical operations.
..... Eventually, DHS will need to be fully funded again to avoid big problems. The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for instance, has warned that the crisis will "severely disrupt" his ability to reimburse states for disaster relief costs.
..... That could happen in one of two ways: First Democrats and the White House could reach an agreement, through there's still no indication that the two sides are any closer to doing that.
..... As pain from the shutdown increases - with longer airport security lines, possible delays in disaster relief or uproar form DHS workers themselves - the pressure win increase on both Democrats and the Trump administration to end the standoff.
..... Alternative, Democrats could decide they want to buy themselves more time and push for another short term funding extension to fully fund DHS again while their talks with the White House continue. The Bucked that option already, though, blocking a test vote in the Senate on February 12. [2026]