SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 23: Travelers wait in a long Transportation Security Administration (TSA) line that wraps around Terminal 1 at San Diego International Airport on March 23, 2026 in San Diego, California.
KC Alfred | San Diego Union | Getty Images
Senators and the White House appear to be close to a deal that would largely fund the Department of Homeland Security and end a partial government shutdown, as delays at airports worsen in the second month of the shutdown.
A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday, said negotiations were still ongoing, but “this agreement appears acceptable.” In addition to funding DHS, President Donald Trump has said he wants to include other changes, such as a ban on transgender care and voter ID measures.
As reported by multiple news outlets, the agreement includes funding for all of DHS, except for a portion of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget. Republicans also plan to push partisan bills to supplement ICE funding, including a version of the Trump-backed election bill, the SAVE America Act, that would mandate national voter ID and require proof of citizenship for registration.
The apparent progress comes as lines at TSA airports swell as TSA agents face missed paychecks for the second time this week and are skipping work. The Trump administration sent ICE agents to some U.S. airports this week, purporting to assist TSA officers.
Republican lawmakers met with President Trump at the White House on Monday night to discuss the deal. Majority Leader John Thune. “Yesterday’s meeting went well and we are moving forward,” R.S.D. told reporters on Tuesday.
DHS funding expired in February, a month after federal agents shot and killed two Americans in Minneapolis as part of increased immigration enforcement.
The timing of a formal proposal remains unclear. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said on the Senate floor Tuesday that Democrats were waiting for a written proposal and called the situation at the airport “unsustainable.”
Schumer said the weekend’s momentum was interrupted when Trump said he would not support any funding deal until the Save America Act, which Democrats scrapped as an attempt at voter suppression, is passed.
“Fortunately, things seem to be getting back on track this morning,” Schumer said. “Donald Trump seems to have gotten over his tantrum, recognizing that Democrats will probably block voter suppression in the Senate.”
“Republicans can now get back to the table and get serious about solutions to pay TSA workers quickly,” Schumer said.
Sen. John Hoeven, a Democrat, said Tuesday after a meeting in Thune’s office that Republicans were “ready to go.” He called on Democrats, who are also seeking changes to ICE’s immigration enforcement in exchange for their support, to “stop running around.”
“So Democrats need to join us,” Hoeven said. “We need to pay our TSA officers.”
But it’s not just Democrats who need to be on board with this. Conservative Republicans who have championed the SAVE America Act have expressed resistance to trying to trick it into passing through a “budget reconciliation” process. The process is a procedural tool for budget bills, requiring 60 votes to pass the Senate, whereas most bills require a simple majority to pass.
“It’s hard to imagine how the SAVE America Act could be passed through reconciliation. By ‘difficult’ I mean ‘essentially impossible,'” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who has led the charge against the voter ID bill in the Senate, wrote on X on Tuesday.
Houben said he has been in talks with Lee and that negotiations will continue.
“”All of this is a work in progress. Building consensus takes time,” Hoeven said.
Trouble may also be brewing among the right wing of the House Republican conference. The House Freedom Caucus, which along with Lee and the bill’s other sponsors is pushing the Senate to change filibuster rules to ensure passage, questioned that strategy Tuesday, citing the chamber’s “esoteric rules” and questioned whether the SAVE America Act would even be considered in the reconciliation process.
“This is gaslighting. The American people are not stupid and will not accept another failure from Congressional Republicans. Pass action now to save America,” the group posted on X on Tuesday.
This is developing news. Please check back for the latest information.
