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The U.S. Senate unanimously voted in a rare overnight session early Friday (March 27) to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while leaving out Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — a partial breakthrough in a funding standoff that has lasted more than 40 days.
According to CNN, the agreement covers key DHS agencies like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guard, but the House of Representatives must still act before any of the funded agencies can officially reopen.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on his way to the Senate floor in the early morning hours: "We're gonna execute on as much as DHS as we can tonight, and then we'll fund the rest of it later." The South Dakota Republican confirmed the deal would cover "everything but ICE and CBP today," though he noted that customs operations had been cleared.
The Shutdown's Toll on Travelers
The funding lapse, which began in mid-February, has hit air travelers hard. NPR reported that TSA absences have topped 40% at some airports, leading to what acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeil described as "the highest wait times in history." More than 480 TSA officers have quit during the shutdown, and thousands of federal workers have gone without pay.
The impasse triggered major travel delays and missed flights across the country, and pressure mounted on lawmakers to act before a scheduled two-week congressional recess.
Democrats Hold the Line on ICE
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was "very proud" of Senate Democrats for staying united throughout the standoff. "In the wake of the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Senate Democrats were clear: no blank check for a lawless ICE and border patrol," Schumer said, referencing two U.S. citizens killed in Minneapolis earlier this year during ICE-related incidents.
Schumer said the agreement funds the TSA, Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), while strengthening security at ports of entry. "This could have been accomplished weeks ago if Republicans hadn't stood in the way," he added.
Democrats had pushed for major reforms to ICE operations, including requiring judicial warrants for agents entering homes and a ban on face coverings for officers. PBS NewsHour reported that earlier framework discussions included some concessions, such as mandating body cameras and identification for officers, but negotiations ultimately broke down before a full deal could be reached.
Thune argued that Democrats walked away without the reforms they wanted. "Democrats didn't actually want a solution," he said. "They wanted an issue. Politics over policy, self-interest over reform, pandering to their base instead of actually solving the problem."
ICE Funding Already Secured Elsewhere
Thune pointed out that Republicans had anticipated this situation, noting that ICE had already been provided $75 billion in separate funding through last year's major domestic policy package. "One of the reasons we frontloaded, pre-loaded up the one, big, beautiful bill with advanced funding for Homeland Security was because we anticipated this was likely going to happen, and it did," he said.
President Trump had also announced he would direct DHS to pay TSA agents even if the department remained unfunded. Thune said he spoke with President Trump shortly before that announcement was made. "I talked to him earlier today, right before he made his announcement. So yeah, I mean he anticipates what we're attempting to do here," Thune told reporters.
What Happens Next
The Senate's overnight vote is only the first step. The House must still pass the same measure before the affected agencies can reopen. When asked whether the House would follow suit, Thune was candid: "I don't know what the House will do." He added that he hoped the lower chamber would act quickly, saying, "hopefully they'll be around and we can get at least a lot of the government opened up again."
ICE and border patrol funding remains unresolved, and Senate Republicans have signaled they may pursue that funding through a second budget reconciliation package, which could also include parts of the SAVE America Act, an elections overhaul bill backed by President Trump. That effort faces significant procedural hurdles, and it remains unclear whether it can pass the Senate.