House Rules Committee Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina) speaks with ranking member Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) during a Rules Committee hearing on a bill to end the partial government shutdown on February 2, 2026, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for more than 70 days, Congress appears deadlocked on a series of controversial issues, and there is no immediate prospect of resolving the funding gap.
As the House of Representatives turned its wheels Tuesday, some members turned to higher powers.
“I have a copy of the Serenity Prayer here,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, RN.C., chair of the House Rules Committee, at the beginning of Tuesday afternoon’s hearing. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Congress’ to-do list is long. In addition to the DHS funding, it includes other thorny bills such as reauthorizing the controversial Foreign Surveillance Program that expires at the end of April, a bill establishing agriculture and food policy, and spending on Republican immigration priorities, which some hope will pave the way for an end to the partial government shutdown.
Congress is dysfunctional, but time is running out. Both houses of Congress are scheduled to go into recess for a week starting Friday. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April authorizing all DHS employees to be paid during the government shutdown. But Trump administration officials say that emergency fund could run out by May 1.
If that happens, Transportation Security Administration employees could once again be underpaid, which caused massive delays at airports across the country at the beginning of the shutdown. Also, the Secret Service agents who stopped the alleged gunman at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner over the weekend may soon be without pay, along with other DHS employees.
“The Senate has unanimously passed funding for DHS twice in the last 33 days — twice,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said at a news conference Tuesday.
In late March, the Senate approved a DHS bill that would fund all but one part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, but the House quickly changed the proposal after opposition from conservatives in the chamber.
“All Speaker (Mike) Johnson has to do is bring it to the floor and it will pass. It will pass with a large number of votes. But right now the Republicans are blocking it,” Schumer said.
just stuck
Accusations of DHS funding go both ways.
Republicans have repeatedly fired shots at Democrats who refused to defund DHS in February after two Americans were killed by federal agents during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January. Most Democrats continue to withhold support for legislation that would partially fund ICE and CBP without changing immigration enforcement practices.
“The Radical Left Democrats have been shutting down DHS since February 14th. Our great Speaker Mike Johnson is working hard to end the Democratic shutdown and pass the first phase of a plan to fully fund our amazing ICE and Border Patrol agents,” President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday, referring to the budget resolution Republicans introduced last week under the “budget reconciliation” process.
Budget reconciliation is a way to pass spending-related initiatives with a simple majority in the Senate, as opposed to the 60-vote threshold for overcoming a filibuster in the House, allowing passage of contentious provisions on partisan votes.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) holds a press conference about DHS funding at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 28, 2026.
Eric Lee | Reuters
House Republicans say passing the reconciliation bill funding ICE and CBP is a prerequisite to voting in favor of the bill funding the rest of DHS. But the entire two-phase plan to end the partial government shutdown will be delayed this week as the House considers other controversial legislation.
Further complicating matters, Johnson told reporters Monday that the DHS funding bill passed by the Senate would need to be changed to pass the House, which would then have to return to the Senate for final approval.
“I don’t know what they’re saying,” Schumer said Tuesday when asked about Johnson’s revised bill. “They’re just stuck.”
Republican infighting stalls DHS funding and other bills
The House Rules Committee, which typically decides which bills go to the House floor, returned to Congress on Monday in hopes of moving together the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, budget resolutions for ICE and CBP, and the farm bill. Broad funding for DHS was not included in that plan, as many House Republicans have said they would not support the bill without first funding ICE and CBP.
But the plan stalled due to infighting within the Republican Party, as the Rules Committee, which must set the rules for debate before a bill is introduced to the House, could not reach an agreement.
The right wing of the party has called for changes to FISA, including warrant requirements for U.S. data seized as part of the program. Republican hardliners also opposed the farm bill’s provisions, saying they shielded pesticide manufacturers from liability.
With a narrow majority, Republican leaders cannot afford to lose a small number of their own members to advance the bill.
“Look at the common themes in DHS funding, the reconciliation bill, and the Section 702 extension. All three are embroiled in internal Republican infighting,” DRI Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse wrote on X on Tuesday. “This is not a partisan divide, this is Republican incompetence.”
