NEWS HEADLINES: DHS enters partial shutdown as Congress fails to agree on a funding bill before the weekend – One America News Network

OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
2:35 PM – Saturday, February 14, 2026

The federal government has entered a partial shutdown as Congress failed to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Senate failed to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the proposed DHS appropriations bill before lawmakers left Washington, D.C., for a long weekend to observe Presidents’ Day on Monday, causing the department to enter a partial shutdown at midnight on Friday.

Members of both chambers of Congress were also scheduled to attend the 62^nd annual Munich Security Conference, with several flying out at the end of the day on Thursday. Both a full-year bill and a temporary, two-week funding extension failed.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) gave Senators 24 hours’ notice to return to the capital if a deal was reached, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) gave 48 hours.\

Republicans also pointed to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats for blocking the GOP’s efforts to prevent another shutdown.

“Schumer’s what’s deciding this,” Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told Fox News. “I mean, he’s deciding that he’s more interested in people going to Munich than he is in funding DHS.”

Thursday’s Senate vote was largely split along party lines in a 52-47 vote, with Senator John Fetterman (D-Penn.) being the only Democrat to back the bill with Republicans.

Democrats have held off on agreeing to fund the DHS until their demands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reforms and oversight are met. Republicans have agreed to agents wearing body cameras, but resisted demands that they obtain judicial warrants before entering private property to apprehend suspects.

Schumer accused the GOP of choosing “chaos.”

“They need to negotiate in good faith, produce legislation that actually reins in ICE and stops the violence,” he said on Thursday.

 

The scrutiny on ICE has been intensified for the past two months as “Operation Metro Surge” was carried out in Minnesota, with several thousand federal immigration personnel deployed to the state. Two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed in immigration enforcement-related shootings in January during anti-ICE demonstrations in Minneapolis.

Border czar Tom Homan recently revealed that despite rowdy protests across the state, local law enforcement has been cooperating with federal forces, going against sanctuary policies to notify immigration officers when a suspect is to be released from prison. This has led to the end of the operation, with troops already being relocated.

Critical immigration agencies like ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue operations due to existing funding from last year’s appropriations bill signed under President Donald Trump.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Secret Service are expected to experience some disruptions as a result of the funding lapse, however.

FEMA workers are likely to be furloughed without pay, which officials warn could impede the agency’s ability to provide aid in natural disasters.

TSA personnel, including airport security and baggage handlers, are set to continue working without pay over the weekend to avoid travel disruptions, such as delays and cancellations, similar to what the country saw during the 43-day full shutdown late last year — the longest in U.S. history.

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