Congress remains at odds over DHS funding, but President Trump on Friday ordered TSA officers to be paid. The agency’s shutdown has affected air travelers all over the country. This photo shows travelers passing through the Terminal B security checkpoint at Sacramento International Airport in July 2025.
Ethan Wolin
ewolin@sacbee.com
A U.S. Senate deal to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security unraveled Friday afternoon when the House rejected the agreement, likely prolonging the partial government shutdown.
The proposed agreement, which the Senate approved around 3 a.m. Friday, would have provided funding to all the agencies under DHS, except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, and did not include any of the federal immigration reforms pushed for by Democrats.
The House rejected the deal Friday afternoon, Speaker Mike Johnson calling it a “joke.” President Donald Trump agreed and said the agreement was not “appropriate” in an interview with Fox News.
The partial shutdown had most affected airports, at least visibly, as hundreds of TSA agents had quit or called off work. That led to long lines at some of the busiest airports in the country and increased pressure on Congress to reach a deal.
On Thursday afternoon, as senators worked to reach an agreement, Trump said he would sign a national emergency order to pay TSA agents. The employees should begin receiving payments on Monday, according to DHS.
Sacramento International said Friday morning in a statement that it had not experienced any operational issues during the shutdown, though had previously recommended travelers arrive at least three hours before their flights depart. Callout rates for TSA officers in the capital region were a “little higher than normal,” according to previous reporting from The Sacramento Bee.
Senate Democrats and Republicans had both touted Friday’s agreement as a win.
Republican Senator John Thune, majority leader of the Senate, told reporters on Friday morning Democrats had given up their remaining leverage for immigration reforms.
“That ship has sailed,” Thune said, according to Punchbowl News. “They kissed that opportunity goodbye by failing to provide funding for those agencies.”
Still, Democrats argued that the resolution validated what the party had fought for over the last two months — no new spending for immigration agencies absent policy reforms. ICE and CBP can still mostly operate on the money they received from last year’s major federal policy bill.
If an agreement is finalized, both parties will continue their fight over immigration funding and reforms in the months ahead.
“The fight is far from over…We’ve succeeded in funding critical agencies and withholding additional funding for Trump’s ICE for now, but we must keep demanding full accountability from ICE and CBP for their actions,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, in a statement on Friday morning.
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 9:30 AM.
Related Stories from Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee
Mathew Miranda is a political reporter for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau, covering how decisions in Washington, D.C., affect the lives of Californians. He is a proud son of Salvadoran immigrants and earned degrees from Chico State and UC Berkeley.