Trump Signs DHS Funding Bill, Ending Historic Shutdown Chaos at Airports

Air travel across the United States took the hit when the immigration funding fight stalled the Department of Homeland Security, leaving travelers facing long lines, staffing gaps and the threat of wider disruption before President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill Thursday to fund most of the department.

The standoff had lasted more than 10 weeks. DHS had been without routine funds since Feb. 14, turning the dispute over Trump’s immigration crackdown into a crisis that reached security checkpoints and control towers. The House of Representatives approved the measure shortly before Trump signed it, ending what became the longest shutdown of a federal department in U.S. history and the longest partial shutdown in U.S. history.

The bill eased pressure on the Transportation Security Administration and other parts of DHS, but it did not settle the larger fight over immigration enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and part of Customs and Border Protection remained unfunded, leaving the underlying clash on Capitol Hill intact. Much of Trump’s immigration agenda was already financed separately, yet the White House warned that temporary money used to keep TSA personnel on the job would soon run out, raising the prospect of fresh delays for travelers.

The shutdown’s practical cost was visible in airports, where federal officials reported long lines and slowdown risks as workers kept showing up without pay. An estimated 13,000 air traffic controllers and 61,000 TSA officers were affected in similar shutdown-related aviation crises, a reminder of how quickly political brinkmanship can strain the system that moves millions of people. In response to rising callouts among TSA employees, Trump deployed immigration agents to major U.S. airports, a move that drew criticism from travelers and immigrant-rights advocates.

The episode echoed earlier shutdown-driven aviation disruptions, when FAA capacity cuts and widespread delays rippled through the national travel network and affected more than 5 million travelers. Thursday’s bill stopped the immediate funding lapse, but by leaving ICE and part of Customs and Border Protection outside the deal, it postponed rather than resolved the next showdown over DHS and Trump’s immigration agenda.