President Trump signed legislation Thursday funding most of the Department of Homeland Security through September, ending a 76-day partial shutdown that became the longest of any federal agency in American history. The House passed the Senate-approved bill by voice vote, restoring funding for the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, FEMA, and the Secret Service. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection were excluded — both agencies had continued operating under separately appropriated funds throughout the shutdown.
The shutdown began February 14 after Democrats refused to back DHS funding without reforms to ICE, including body cameras for agents and restrictions on raids at schools, churches, and hospitals. In late March, the Senate unanimously passed a bill funding most DHS agencies without ICE dollars, but Speaker Mike Johnson held it for more than a month, calling the measure “a joke.” Johnson reversed course Thursday under pressure from Trump and from centrist House Republicans who had been pushing for a floor vote.
The deal came together only after the House passed a separate budget resolution Wednesday creating a pathway to fund ICE and CBP through the reconciliation process, which bypasses the Senate filibuster. Johnson called that resolution a precondition for acting on DHS funding. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin welcomed Thursday’s vote and blamed Democrats for the crisis. “This Democrat shutdown NEVER should have happened,” Mullin posted on X.
TSA bore the heaviest toll. More than 1,000 TSA officers quit their jobs during the 76 days. At the peak of the crisis in late March, more than 12 percent of the national TSA workforce called out on a single day, and security lines stretched four and a half hours at some airports. Angela Grana, TSA union regional vice president for Colorado and a Durango-La Plata County Airport officer, told ABC News her workers were taking second jobs, selling plasma, and sleeping at the airport because they could not afford gas. “We can’t get it wrong,” Grana said. “We have to get it right every time.”
Trump had ordered Mullin to pay TSA officers using funds drawn from the Republican reconciliation package in late March, temporarily stabilizing call-out rates. Those funds were nearly exhausted by May. Mullin had warned publicly that DHS payroll of $1.6 billion every two weeks would exceed available emergency funds within days. The legislation now funds DHS through the end of fiscal year 2026. TSA noted that each new recruit requires four to six months of training, meaning the staffing losses from the 76-day shutdown will take time to reverse.
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