Johnson and Thune Unveil Plan to End Record 45-Day DHS Shutdown

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced a joint plan Tuesday to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security, pledging to end what they described as the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history. The DHS funding lapse, which began on Valentine's Day, has now stretched 45 days, surpassing the 43-day record set during last fall's government-wide shutdown.

The joint statement, released from Johnson's congressional office, promised a path forward to fully fund DHS, including ICE and CBP, though details of how the two Republican leaders plan to clear the Senate's 60-vote filibuster threshold remained unclear. With 53 Republicans in the Senate, they still need Democratic votes to advance any legislation.

The announcement came five days after competing funding votes on March 28 exposed a rare public rift between House and Senate Republicans. The Senate, in an early-morning unanimous consent vote, passed a bill funding all of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and parts of Customs and Border Protection. Johnson swiftly rejected that approach, calling it a "joke" and the measure "unconscionable." Hours later, the House passed its own 60-day continuing resolution funding all of DHS, including ICE and CBP, through May 22, by a 213-203 vote. Only three Democrats crossed the aisle: Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, and Don Davis of North Carolina.

Senate Democrats immediately declared the House-passed bill dead. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declared, "No blank check for a lawless ICE and Border Patrol." Democrats have repeatedly blocked DHS funding over demands for reforms to ICE's enforcement operations, citing the fatal shootings of two Minneapolis civilians, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents. A Schumer spokesperson said Democrats "would not accept anything less than what was passed unanimously by the Senate."

The Republican coalition in the House also faced internal resistance. Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland said his members would only support DHS funding if the bill included a federal voter ID requirement and additional border patrol and child sex trafficking funding. House Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan called the Senate bill "garbage." Johnson told reporters he "wouldn't call John Thune the engineer of this," deflecting blame toward Schumer even as Thune and GOP staff had spent hours drafting the Senate measure.

The shutdown's most visible impact fell on air travel. TSA officers recorded callout rates exceeding 10% for eight consecutive days in late March, peaking at 11.83% and leaving more than 3,450 personnel absent on the single worst day. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport each logged callout rates above 40%. Nearly 500 of the roughly 50,000 TSA workers resigned. Trump signed an executive order on March 28 directing DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA workers; most received back pay for at least two missed pay periods by March 30. Workers at FEMA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Coast Guard, and ICE and CBP support staff continued to go without pay.

Both chambers departed for a two-week Easter/Passover recess after the failed March 28 votes, with the Senate not expected back until April 13 and the House until April 14. Trump publicly urged Congress to cut its recess short, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirming the administration's position. Johnson told reporters he had spoken with Trump about the House CR: "He understands exactly what we're doing and why, and he supports it.