US President Signs Homeland Security Funding Bill, Ending Partial Government Shutdown

U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a bill to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the House passed the proposal already approved by the Senate. The voice vote on Thursday ended an 11-week partial government shutdown that had left many federal employees unpaid.

The bill does not include funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP). While both agencies still have sufficient funding from previously approved legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, initially opposed the measure due to these exclusions. However, he brought the bill to a vote after President Trump expressed his support.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin welcomed the passage and blamed Democrats for the shutdown. “Let’s be clear, the Democrat shutdown SHOULD NEVER have happened,” he wrote on X. “To the amazing patriotic employees who continued to protect our country every day without pay guarantees—thank you. President Trump and I are grateful to stand with you to make America safe again.”

The partial shutdown had left many DHS units operating in a limited capacity, leading to long lines at airports as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers worked without pay. It also raised concerns about potential disruptions to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), DHS’s disaster response arm.

Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren called the passage “good news.” “I’m glad we are now funding law enforcement agencies within DHS, like TSA and FEMA,” she said. “Now Congress should focus on reining in ICE and CBP, holding them to the same standards every police officer in America must follow.”

The budget impasse stemmed partly from a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens in January. On February 4, Democratic congressional leaders released a list of demands to reform ICE, including barring ICE agents from wearing masks to conceal identity, prohibiting racial profiling, and ending immigration enforcement at “sensitive locations” such as schools and churches. Democrats threatened to vote against any DHS funding bill without these “common sense” reforms. Republicans rejected the demands as unreasonable.

Republicans control both the Senate and the House, but Senate procedural rules known as the filibuster require 60 votes to pass major legislation. The DHS shutdown began on February 14.

The Senate passed a DHS funding bill in March that excluded ICE as a compromise, but House Speaker Johnson held it for more than a month. Now, Republican senators are seeking to secure ICE and DHS funding through a complex budget process called reconciliation, which can bypass the filibuster. President Trump has called on his party to eliminate the filibuster entirely—a risky move that could benefit Democrats if they regain control of the Senate.

The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to approve and allocate funds for the federal government. When lawmakers fail to pass a budget bill, funding lapses and the government enters a shutdown, often causing service disruptions and unpaid workers. In recent years, both Republicans and Democrats have used government funding and shutdowns as leverage to extract concessions from the opposing party.