Photo: Alamy
The Senate adjourned Thursday evening for the President’s Day recess for 10 days without passing a funding measure to keep the Department of Homeland Security operating for the rest of the fiscal year, leaving the agency facing a shutdown beginning Saturday.
Without a bill approved by Congress and signed by Donald Trump, DHS funding will lapse, affecting workers and operations across the department.
The Transportation Security Administration warned that the shutdown could impact airport travel as employees would be required to work without pay until funding is restored.
“The government shutdown will cease pay for all of TSA’s more than 63,000-person workforce and suspend non-essential services,” Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said on social media. “Over 99% of that workforce resides in communities across the country.
“Democrats should fund the department and stop punishing our workforce and the everyday travelers they serve,” he added. “A prolonged shutdown could result in significant attrition and increased callout rates of our officers, including noticeable impacts at airports, including delays, longer wait times and canceled flights.”
The shutdown would affect only DHS employees, since Congress has already approved funding for other federal agencies through the remainder of the current fiscal year.
One key agency in the funding dispute is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE operations are not expected to be disrupted because Congress previously approved an additional $75 billion for its budget, and the agency is considered essential for public safety. Its personnel are expected to continue working even if pay is delayed.
The Senate is scheduled to return Monday, Feb. 23. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told lawmakers they could be called back earlier if negotiators reach an agreement on DHS funding.
One key funding issue concerns whether agents are required to have more than an administrative warrant to conduct property searches of immigrants.
“There’s some obviously red lines that Democrats have and that the White House has,” Thune told reporters. “Every iteration of this gets a step closer, because I think the White House is giving more and more ground on some of these key issues.”