Democrats blocked advancement of a full-year Homeland Security funding bill as Republicans warned critical agencies could face disruption absent a last-minute deal.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Senate on Thursday failed to advance a full-year appropriations measure for the Department of Homeland Security, leaving the agency hours away from a partial shutdown as Democrats withheld support pending immigration enforcement concessions from the Trump administration.
Lawmakers voted 52–47 to move forward with the House-passed funding bill, falling short of the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster. Without an agreement, DHS funding is set to lapse at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. The department employs more than 260,000 personnel and oversees border enforcement, disaster response, aviation security, and protective services.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune switched his vote at the end of the roll call in a procedural move that preserves his ability to bring the legislation back up for reconsideration.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote in favor of advancing the bill, breaking with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, recently discharged from the hospital after seeking treatment for flu-like symptoms, did not cast a vote.
Democratic lawmakers have for weeks declined to support full-year funding for DHS without changes to immigration enforcement policy. Party leaders issued a 10-point list of demands on Feb. 4, seeking measures including requiring judicial warrants before detaining illegal migrants on private property, prohibiting immigration officers from wearing masks, and ending certain roving patrol practices.
Republicans argued those proposals would significantly hinder Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. They said tightening warrant requirements would impede ICE’s ability to carry out arrests and enforce federal law.
Democrats defended their opposition by citing limited progress in negotiations. Republican senators countered that discussions had been conducted in “good faith,” and that the White House had provided legislative text as part of ongoing talks.
“The announcement that [Border Czar Tom] Homan made this morning was additive to the attempt to try and find a solution here,” Thune told reporters Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Homan announced a drawdown of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, concluding what had been called Operation Metro Surge. He credited “unprecedented levels of coordination” with state and local officials in Minnesota for the decision to wind down the operation.
Democrats said the Minnesota development did not address broader concerns about immigration enforcement nationwide. “While I’m encouraged that there are negotiations going on, I’m not going to vote for funding as long as they’re still doing what they’re doing, not just in Minneapolis, but across the country,” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware told reporters Thursday.
Republicans noted that ICE and Customs and Border Protection received significant funding outside the standard appropriations cycle through legislation passed in July 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocated $75 billion for ICE and $65 billion for CBP over multiple years.
Still, a lapse in DHS appropriations would affect a broad range of agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Transportation Security Administration.
Schumer previously warned of the potential consequences of a DHS funding gap. “If there’s a shutdown, TSA could be thrown into chaos, meaning possible delays and disruption for all fliers,” Schumer said on the Senate floor in 2023. “Border enforcement agencies would be undermined, and even FEMA’s disaster relief fund could actually dry up. We don’t need to go through any of this.”
Under shutdown procedures, DHS employees designated as essential would continue reporting to work but would not receive pay until funding is restored. Members of Congress would continue to receive their salaries.
DHS is the only federal agency not currently funded through September. It is operating under a two-week continuing resolution that expires at midnight Friday. That short-term patch was supported by Democrats to allow negotiations to proceed.
Matthew Quinn, deputy director of the U.S. Secret Service, warned Wednesday that a lapse would complicate operations. “We will feel the ripple effects…delayed contracts, diminished hiring, our efforts to train and deploy the best,” Quinn said. “Our difficult mission becomes exponentially harder during a government shutdown.”
Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida expressed doubt that Democrats would agree to another short-term extension. “Chuck Schumer has decided to shut down the government again,” Scott told reporters Thursday. “TSA is not going to get paid. FEMA is not going to get paid.”
With no full agreement in place, Thune advocated for another temporary funding measure to avoid disruption. “We ought to at least be trying to keep this process moving, do a CR that allow the negotiations to continue,” he said.
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