DHS Shutdown Nears as Negotiations Go Nowhere

With Congress leaving town, agency is on track to shut down Saturday
Posted Feb 12, 2026 5:10 PM CST
Congress Begins Recess Without Settling DHS Issues
From left: Rodney Scott, commissioner, US Customs and Border Protection; Joseph Edlow, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services; and Todd Lyons, senior official performing the duties of the director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, testify during a House Committee on Homeland Security...   (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)

Members of Congress are heading out of town with one of the government's key departments about to go dark. After a Department of Homeland Security funding bill fell eight votes short of advancing on Thursday, lawmakers in both chambers began a weeklong recess that makes an early Saturday shutdown of DHS all but certain, Politico reports. The stalemate stems from a broader immigration enforcement fight following two shootings in Minneapolis: Democrats say the White House's latest proposal to curb enforcement is not enough, while Republicans argue it moves significantly toward their position.

A move by Trump border adviser Tom Homan to dial back ICE operations has not bridged the divide, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer insisting that only legislation can address "ICE's abuses" and that Democrats won't accept the status quo. He pointed out that Trump could reverse Homan any time if there's no legislative change, per the New York Times. Administration officials "have not addressed most of our major concerns at all," said Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, per the Washington Post. "Democrats are never going to get their full wish list," Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday on the Senate floor. "That's not the way this works."

Republicans may still try a brief funding patch, but any fast-track measure would require unanimous consent and could be blocked. A shutdown would hit agencies including TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard, though negotiations have focused on ICE and Customs and Border Protection. ICE would not close because it can run on the billions of dollars it was appropriated last year. It would be the third shutdown, full or partial, in three months.

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