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Senate Democrats blocked a bill Thursday (March 5) to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the remainder of fiscal 2026, deepening a partial shutdown of the agency that has now stretched on for weeks.
The Senate voted 51-45 on the measure, falling well short of the 60 votes needed for passage. Nearly every Democrat voted against it, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) being the lone exception.
Republicans have been pushing hard for Democrats to back the bill, arguing that U.S. military strikes against Iran have raised the threat level at home and made it more urgent than ever to fully fund DHS. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said it "couldn't be worse timing" for a DHS shutdown, adding, "I hope my Democrat colleagues will finally decide to come to the table and bring their second shutdown in under six months to a close."
But Democrats are not buying that argument. Their opposition centers on demands to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — demands that intensified after federal immigration agents killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis nurse, sparking nationwide outrage.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) echoed that sentiment, telling reporters, "It's very easy for them to get all of this funded — simply to agree to our commonsense proposals on ICE and Border Patrol." Schumer acknowledged that negotiations with the White House are ongoing but said, "We're still far apart."
The DHS funding lapse, which began February 13, has left several key agencies operating without full funding, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Coast Guard, and the department's cybersecurity division. Many employees in those agencies have been required to work without pay while the standoff continues.
Democrats have also been calling for a compromise that would fund the roughly 80% of DHS that has no direct role in immigration enforcement — including FEMA, the TSA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service.