Senate Democrats are blocking DHS funding for the fifth time in a 35-day shutdown
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Long airport lines and growing concerns about threats at home weren’t enough to stop Senate Democrats from blocking Homeland Security funding again on Friday.
This is the fifth time Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., and Senate Republicans have tried to reopen the agency. The latest failed attempt comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown hits its 35th day, tying it for the second-longest shutdown in history.
As the lines of the airport extend to the blocks and the agents of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are not paid, and the concern of further attacks in the US after two shootings last week, the leader of the Senate Minerals Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., and his caucus are not going ahead.
DEM SENATORS DIE TO SUPPORT DHS AFTER VOTING TO BLOCK IT 4 TIMES IN LIFE
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., speaks during a news conference for House and Senate Democrats on the DHS funding negotiations at the US Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
They have tried several times to force votes on private funding bills for other parts of DHS that do not cover immigration operations, including several attempts to defund TSA agents, which have been blocked.
“Republicans are saying that unless you go through ICE as it is without changes, we’re not going to help TSA workers get paid and reduce lines at the airport,” Schumer said.
Thune told Fox News Digital that Democrats were seen in their bases and forced to continue to block federal funding for the immigration enforcement and Customs Enforcement (ICE) effort.
“The question is,” said Thune, “[Are] Any number of Democrats who are willing to make a deal and have enough respect for the appropriations process and the job that we have here to keep the government running, to step up and do what would be difficult, or the base of it, you know, we’re screaming for us to do something else. “
DEMS DOESN’T STAND AS WHITE HOUSE EXPOSES DHS’S FIGHTS IN LIFE
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., told Fox News Digital that it was the Democrats’ far-left base that was preventing them from reopening DHS. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
However, there has been little movement this week which could indicate that the off-ramp is increasing.
Democrats, after two weeks of radio silence, sent the White House another gift. The administration called it a foolish effort by Democrats and, in response, made public a list of five concessions they were willing to offer to reopen DHS.
“The parties are very far apart, mainly because the administration presented a five-part proposal that we are willing to discuss, but that has not been returned at all,” a senior White House official said earlier this week.
But that offer and a public counter led to a closed-door meeting with border chief Tom Homan on Capitol Hill Thursday, where Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Katie Britt, R-Ala.; Angus King, Maine; Maggie Hassan, DN.H.; and Patty Murray, D-Wash., had the first real face-to-face meeting of the shutdown.
That group is expected to meet again on Friday, said Thune.
“I think we will know today if we are really serious about getting an agreement,” he said.
DHS CHIEF KRISTI NOEM TACKLES CRIMES FROM CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., faced a tough challenge from fellow Republicans at the start of his Senate confirmation hearing. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
It also comes as the Senate takes action to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., is President Donald Trump’s pick to replace embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. He received the approval of the committee because of the support of Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., but faces a hostile Democratic crowd in the Senate.
Schumer and Democrats wanted Noem fired, and Mullin made a deal when he heard confirmation that his colleagues everywhere had been seeking for weeks — especially his willingness to seek legal warrants for ICE agents to enter homes in most cases.
Still, the democrats did not change. They plan to force a vote on funding the TSA, which is also likely to fail.
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And Thune is not willing to allow lawmakers to leave Washington, DC, and until the government reopens, because after next week, they will have a two-week break for Easter.
“It has to be resolved, you know, by the end of next week,” said Thune. “I don’t see us taking a break if the government is still closed.”
