US government shutdown over DHS funding dispute with focus on ICE and CBP exclusion

Consensus Summary

The US government’s partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entered its record-breaking duration after House Republicans and Senate Democrats failed to reach a funding agreement in mid-February 2024. Democrats blocked DHS appropriations unless Republicans agreed to new restrictions on ICE and CBP operations following two US citizen deaths during an ICE raid in Minneapolis. A compromise measure passed by the Senate on 15 March 2024 funded most of DHS while excluding ICE and CBP, but House Republicans rejected it in favor of a 60-day full DHS funding bill on 20 March 2024. After internal divisions and pressure from the House Freedom Caucus, Republican leaders Mike Johnson and John Thune pivoted to support the Senate’s measure, abandoning their own bill. The shutdown caused severe disruptions, including hours-long airport security lines in late February 2024 due to unpaid TSA agents, though lines improved after Trump signed an executive order on 21 March 2024 to backpay them. To bypass Democratic opposition, Republicans plan to use budget reconciliation to fund ICE and CBP separately, with Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham leading the effort. The reconciliation bill may also address Iran conflict funding and voter ID requirements under the Save America Act. Democrats criticized the shutdown as a result of Republican infighting, while Republicans framed the measure as protecting border security from future Democratic defunding attempts. The House and Senate are on recess through 28 March 2024, with hopes of advancing the Senate’s measure during brief pro forma sessions. The shutdown remains the longest in US history, with federal workers missing paychecks and agencies like TSA operating at reduced capacity.