Donald Trump
President of the United States
Signed the legislation into law; previously used executive action to temporarily pay TSA workers when regular funds ran out; set June 1 deadline for full DHS funding through reconciliation
Markwayne Mullin
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security (confirmed March 2026)
Took charge of DHS mid-shutdown after Noem's ouster; publicly warned on Fox News that DHS would run out of money for salaries in May; celebrated the signing on social media
Mike Johnson
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (R-LA)
Held up the Senate-passed bill for weeks; secured the April 29 215-211 budget resolution vote (kept open 5+ hours) unlocking the $70B ICE/CBP reconciliation path, which cleared the way for the DHS bill to pass by voice vote
John Thune
U.S. Senate Majority Leader (R-SD)
Led unanimous Senate passage of the bipartisan DHS funding bill a month before House action; coordinating the reconciliation path that will fund ICE and CBP for the remainder of Trump's term
Kristi Noem
Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security (ousted during shutdown)
Led DHS when funding lapsed February 14; her mid-shutdown ouster left the department without confirmed leadership during the longest agency shutdown in U.S. history
Chip Roy
U.S. Representative (R-TX)
Pressured Johnson to hold out for reconciliation as the funding path for immigration enforcement; his caucus opposition delayed House action on the Senate bill by over a month
Rosa DeLauro
U.S. Representative (D-CT); Ranking Member, House Appropriations Committee
Co-architected the bipartisan deal to fund TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard, and Secret Service separately from ICE/CBP; called it 'about damn time' when it finally passed
Bennie Thompson
U.S. Representative (D-MS); Ranking Member, House Homeland Security Committee
Publicly called out Johnson for sitting on the Senate-cleared bill; said Republicans 'manufactured this crisis, prolonged it for months, and forced thousands of public servants and their families to pay the price'
260,000 DHS employees (TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA, Secret Service, CISA)
Federal workers across DHS non-immigration agencies
Bore the direct costs of the shutdown β unpaid for weeks, forced to work without pay, with 1,000+ resigning; their hardship and the resulting airport chaos created the political pressure that finally forced Johnson to act