Trump's DHS shutdown hits 44 days, longest in U.S. history

The Department of Homeland Security shutdown entered its 44th day on March 29, 2026, surpassing the previous U.S. record of 43 days set by the October–November 2025 full government shutdownGovernment ShutdownA lapse in federal funding that forces non-essential agencies to halt operations when Congress fails to pass appropriations legislation or a continuing resolution before money runs out.Key ConceptGovernment ShutdownA lapse in federal funding that forces non-essential agencies to halt operations when Congress fails to pass appropriations legislation or a continuing resolution before money runs out.Open conceptBookmark and becoming the longest government funding lapse in American history. The shutdown began February 14, 2026, when Congress failed to pass a funding bill before the prior continuing resolutionContinuing ResolutionA temporary spending bill that keeps the government funded when full appropriations bills haven't passed.Key ConceptContinuing ResolutionA temporary spending bill that keeps the government funded when full appropriations bills haven't passed.Open conceptBookmark expired. It covers only a partial shutdown — the rest of the federal government is funded — but DHS oversees the Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection, ICE, the Coast Guard, FEMA, and the Secret Service.\n\nBefore October 2025, the longest U.S. government shutdown on record was 34 days, set during the December 2018–January 2019 border wall standoff during Trump's first term. The 2025 full shutdown surpassed that record at 43 days. The 2026 DHS shutdown surpassed both.

Congress left Washington for a two-week Easter recess without resolving the impasse. House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed a 60-day continuing resolution through the House on March 28 by a vote of 213–203, which would fund all of DHS — including ICE and CBP — at current levels through May 22. Three Democrats crossed party lines: Reps. Don Davis of North Carolina, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, and Henry Cuellar of Texas. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the House bill \"dead on arrival\" before the vote was finished.\n\nThe Senate had already passed its own DHS funding bill that week — one that excluded ICE and parts of CBP. Speaker Johnson refused to bring the Senate version to the House floor, calling it unacceptable. With each chamber insisting the other move first and both on recess until April 13–14, the earliest possible resolution is mid-April — day 58 or later.

President Trump signed an executive order on March 27 directing DHS to pay TSA employees using funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The White House memorandum stated the administration had identified OBBBA money with \"a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations.\" Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem confirmed TSA officers would receive backpay starting March 30.\n\nLegal analysts immediately raised questions about whether the order complies with the Antideficiency ActAntideficiency Act1870 law prohibiting federal agencies from spending money they haven't been appropriated by Congress, enforced through government shutdowns.Key ConceptAntideficiency Act1870 law prohibiting federal agencies from spending money they haven't been appropriated by Congress, enforced through government shutdowns.Open conceptBookmark (31 U.S.C. § 1341), which prohibits agencies from spending money not specifically appropriated for that purpose. Senator Susan Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she believed other lawfully available funds existed that could cover TSA and Coast Guard pay without the OBBBA workaround. No legal challenge had been filed as of March 30.

The human cost compounded with each week. More than 480 TSA transportation security officers quit — out of a total workforce of approximately 50,000 — rather than continue working without pay. Airports reported callout rates between 40 and 55 percent, meaning nearly half of scheduled TSA officers were not showing up. Security wait times at major airports exceeded four and a half hours at peak travel periods.\n\nThe Coast Guard also went unpaid throughout the shutdown. ICE agents received funding because they drew on OBBBA money rather than the standard DHS appropriation — which is why ICE continued operating while TSA did not. Democrats argued the shutdown was designed to keep immigration enforcementImmigration EnforcementGovernment actions to enforce immigration laws, including deportation, detention, border enforcement, and workplace raids.Key ConceptImmigration EnforcementGovernment actions to enforce immigration laws, including deportation, detention, border enforcement, and workplace raids.Open conceptBookmark running at full capacity while squeezing airport security workers; Republicans said TSA workers were suffering solely because Democrats refused to pass a clean full-DHS bill.

The constitutional machinery at the center of this shutdown is Article I's bicameralism requirement. For a bill to become law, both the House and Senate must pass identical text. The House and Senate have each passed a DHS funding bill — but different ones. Neither counts as law until the other chamber passes the same version.\n\nSpeaker Mike Johnson pushed the House 60-day continuing resolution through 213–203 on March 28. The Senate bill passed with bipartisan support in a voice vote. Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, argued their bill reflected a genuine compromise — funding most of DHS while conditioning ICE funds on enforcement guardrails. Republicans argued any restrictions on ICE were unacceptable. Both sides left town and the shutdown continues.

President Trump linked any DHS funding deal to passage of the SAVE America Act, a federal elections overhaul bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot. On March 23, Trump posted on Truth Social: "I don't think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass 'THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.'" He told reporters the SAVE Act should be "welded in" to any DHS funding package.\n\nSenate Majority Leader John Thune publicly called Trump's demand unrealistic, telling reporters: "the idea that we would have to guarantee its passage in order to open up the government, I think we all know that's not realistic." Senate Democrats called the SAVE Act a non-starter and accused Trump of sabotaging negotiations. The demand added an unrelated election-law fight to an already deadlocked appropriations standoff.

The Coast Guard went unpaid throughout the 44-day shutdown, a national security consequence that extended beyond airport security lines. Unlike TSA, the Coast Guard has no equivalent of the OBBBA funding pool that kept ICE operational. Coast Guard personnel responsible for maritime border security, search and rescue operations, and drug interdiction in U.S. coastal waters worked without pay from February 14 through at least March 27.\n\nTSA Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill testified before a House hearing during the shutdown that TSA officers were "losing their homes and cars, struggling to put food on the table." She told lawmakers airports were experiencing the "highest wait times in history" as TSA absences topped 40% at some hubs. TSA workers missed more than $1 billion in cumulative pay by the time Trump signed the executive order directing backpay on March 27, according to CNN reporting from the DHS hearings.

Senate Majority Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson jointly announced a two-track deal on April 1, 2026, to end the shutdown. Under the framework, Congress would fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP enforcement operations — the concession Democrats had sought — and then Republicans would use budget reconciliation, the same process used to pass the OBBBA last summer, to fund ICE and CBP enforcement separately without needing Democratic votes.\n\nThe deal still required unanimous consent in both chambers during recess, meaning any single member could block it. Several hard-line House conservatives signaled they would oppose any arrangement that did not fully fund ICE immediately. As of March 29, when Congress left for recess, no resolution had taken effect and the shutdown continued past its 44th day.