Handful of Democrats Join House GOP To End DHS Shutdown
The House of Representatives has approved legislation aimed at restoring full funding to the Department of Homeland Security after a weeks-long partial shutdown, with a small group of Democrats breaking ranks to join Republicans in backing the measure.
Lawmakers passed the bill Thursday in a 221–207 vote, largely along party lines. The legislation would fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the end of the fiscal year and restore operations that have been affected by the ongoing funding lapse.
The proposal now heads to the Senate, where earlier efforts to advance similar legislation faced resistance.
Bipartisan Votes in the House
Four Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the funding bill: Henry Cuellar, Don Davis, Jared Golden, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.
However, the measure faces uncertainty in the Senate. Earlier Thursday, a similar proposal failed to advance after a 51–45 procedural vote, falling short of the 60 votes required to move forward. Only one Democrat, John Fetterman, sided with Republicans in that vote.
Shutdown Impacts DHS Operations
The Department of Homeland Security has been partially shut down since February 14, when temporary funding expired. While essential personnel continue working, several operations have been disrupted.
Employees at agencies considered critical to national security — including Transportation Security Administration officers and members of the United States Coast Guard — have remained on duty despite the lapse in funding. Meanwhile, other programs such as training initiatives and certain grant programs have been paused.
Some workers at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have also been furloughed, even as the agency continues monitoring threats to the nation’s infrastructure.
Supporters of the House measure say restoring funding is essential for border security, cybersecurity operations, and disaster response.
GOP Leaders Call Funding “Critical”
Tom Cole, the House Appropriations Committee chairman, stressed the importance of maintaining DHS operations during a tense moment for national security.
The funding, he said on the House floor, is “critical…at such an important time for our country.”
“Shutting down the Department of Homeland Security over [a] partisan fight hasn’t changed the stakes, but maybe knowing how critical it is to keep the homeland safe at this heightened moment, Democrats will side with reason and protecting the nation,” Cole said.
Cole also criticized the strategy of allowing the shutdown to continue.
“Shutdowns are never the answer. I know my colleagues think that by shutting down the government, they are somehow punishing Donald Trump for winning the election, but President Trump is not the one feeling the pain of the shutdown,” he said.
“They are punishing the TSA agents who are working hard to keep their community safe, they’re punishing FEMA employees who are trying to help Americans fighting through these winter storms, they are punishing the cybersecurity analysts at CISA who are combating constant threats to our infrastructure and electric grid,” he added.
Democrats Push Back
Democrats, however, strongly criticized the bill.
Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, dismissed the effort as “political theater.”
She described the push for passage as “a cynical attempt to extract more funding for lawless agencies because of a crisis that the president has created without an imminent threat.”
“If Republicans were serious this week we could have funded every agency under the Department of Homeland Security except for ICE and for CBP and I will not vote for another dime for these agencies until we get the reforms that the American people want and stopping these agencies for terrorizing these communities,” she said.
Despite Democratic criticism, polling has suggested that immigration enforcement actions carried out during the administration of President Donald J. Trump have generally received favorable support among many American voters.
Johnson Warns Democrats on DHS Vote
House Speaker Mike Johnson argued that opposing funding for the nation’s primary homeland security agency sends the wrong message at a time of heightened security concerns.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Johnson urged Americans to pay attention to the vote.
“Everybody in America better watch” to see who votes against the funding, he said.
“Anybody who votes to block funding for the homeland, it is shameful,” Johnson added. “I don’t know how to describe it. It speaks to a long record of Democrats’ deliberate efforts to undermine America’s safety and the essential operations of DHS.”
With the Senate still divided and negotiations ongoing, the fate of the funding measure remains uncertain as lawmakers continue to clash over immigration enforcement and national security priorities.