After more than 40 days, the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security could be nearing its end.
Overnight, the U.S. Senate advanced a measure that would fund most of the agency, sending it to the House for a final vote. Long security lines at airports in recent days have disrupted thousands of travelers and created anxiety for millions — a direct result of Transportation Security Administration officers going weeks without pay and calling out or resigning.d
The legislation still needs a vote in the House, but the development could bring a return to security line normalcy at major airports.
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The legislation would fund nearly all of the Department of Homeland Security, including the TSA, but does not include immigration enforcement funding. That provision would likely be revisited later this year, possibly through a partisan reconciliation bill.
The vote followed President Donald Trump’s post late Thursday on Truth Social, in which he said he would sign an order instructing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to pay TSA officers immediately “in order to address this emergency situation.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have continued during the shutdown because they are funded under what Trump has called his “One Big Beautiful bill.” The new deal includes no changes to ICE policy, which Democrats have sought to reform in recent weeks.
Democrats continue to call for significant policy changes on immigration enforcement before agreeing to fund ICE. Their proposals include requiring ICE agents to operate without masks, showing identification, and avoiding enforcement activities near “sensitive locations” such as hospitals and schools.
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