“I will soon sign an order to pay ALL of the incredible employees at the Department of Homeland Security. Help is on the way for our Brave and Patriotic Public Servants who have continued to work hard, and do their part to protect and defend our Country.
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2026 DHS Government Shutdown
February 14, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security entered a partial shutdown on February 14, 2026 after Congress failed to agree on DHS funding, with Democrats demanding reforms to ICE and CBP operations following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. The shutdown — the longest in US history — left over 100,000 DHS employees working without pay, caused TSA staffing crises, and triggered competing House and Senate funding bills.
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15 Statements
“Our theory of the case behind all this was to keep that thing as narrow and focused as possible, and that maximizes, I think, the speed at which we can do it and the support for it.
“We appreciate and share the President's determination to once and for all bring an end to the Democrat DHS shutdown. In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House will be following through on the President's directive by fully funding the entire Department of Homeland Security on two parallel tracks: through the appropriations process and through the reconciliation process.
“For days, Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction. Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered. We were clear from the start: fund critical security, protect Americans, and no blank check for reckless ICE and Border Patrol enforcement.
“Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again. If that's the vote, I'm a NO.
“As President of the United States, I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation's security.
“The Democrat's DHS shutdown strategy is clear: Block paychecks for TSA officers and force Americans to wait in lines at airports across the country. It's madness.
“The only thing we're going to support is adding that funding into the bill, adding voter ID, sending it back to the Senate, make them come back in and do their work. We can't believe that the Senate abdicated its responsibility this morning of not funding the child sex trafficking investigation division of ICE, that they didn't fund the Border Patrol.
“I have been clear since the start of the appropriations process: I will not vote to give Trump's ICE or CBP another cent without major reforms. ICE and CBP agents have killed American citizens on the streets, terrorized communities, and forever traumatized families and children.
“I rise today in strong opposition to this Republican budget that prioritizes ICE brutality over the American people. It's time to pay TSA agents, end the airport chaos and fully fund every part of the Department of Homeland Security that does not relate to Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine.
“Democrats have repeatedly said that they want to pay TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA and employees who defend America from cyber attacks. This bill would do it. The time to end this is now.
“Our offer is a reasonable, good-faith proposal that contains some of the very same asks Democrats have been talking about now for months. And time is of the essence I'd say to my Republican colleagues. The Easter holiday is coming, families are going on spring break. TSA lines are literally stretching out the door of airports.
“This shutdown has caused chaos at our airports, delayed assistance to communities hit by disasters, and forced thousands of essential frontline employees at TSA, at the Coast Guard, at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, to work without any guarantee of when they will be paid. The American people need to know that the Democrats created this chaos when they walked away from the bipartisan, fully-negotiated DHS funding bill.
“Senate Democrats have chosen not to fund the department and have held this department hostage. As a result, critical national security missions, including border security, immigration enforcement, aviation security, disaster response, cybersecurity and the protection of critical infrastructure are all being strained.
“Under a CR and in a shutdown, this administration can do everything they are already doing — but without any of the critical guardrails and constraints imposed by a full-year funding bill. Americans must be eyes wide open that blocking the DHS funding bill will not shut down ICE.