The Department of Homeland Security shutdown entered its seventh week as the longest funding lapse in American history, forcing unpaid TSA agents to sell blood plasma while travelers face massive airport delays nationwide.

Republicans Split Over Funding Strategy

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune clashed over competing proposals to end the standoff. Johnson’s House GOP conference approved temporary funding for the entire department, but Schumer declared it dead on arrival in the Senate. Thune refused to call lawmakers back to Washington for what he termed a show vote destined to fail. The internal Republican battle escalated when some House conservatives, including Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, publicly called for Thune’s removal from Senate leadership.

President Trump intervened Wednesday by setting a June 1 deadline for Republicans to fund the department through budget reconciliation. Johnson and Thune issued a joint statement supporting the president’s timeline, presenting a temporary united front after days of public infighting. The Senate had earlier proposed funding most DHS operations while excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol from the spending package.

Democrats Gain Nothing Despite Demands

Senate Democrats triggered the partial shutdown in mid-February demanding immigration enforcement reforms following two civilian deaths during ICE operations in Minneapolis. Their proposed changes included banning masked agents, requiring judicial warrants for home entries, and protecting churches and schools from enforcement actions. None of those reforms appeared in the rejected Senate compromise deal. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed victory anyway, pointing to Senate Republicans initially agreeing to exclude ICE and Border Patrol funding from the proposal.

TSA Workers Bear The Brunt

Transportation Security Administration agents earning an average of forty-seven thousand dollars annually worked six weeks without paychecks before President Trump authorized compensation Friday. More than five hundred TSA employees quit during the funding lapse. Some agents reportedly slept in their cars to save gas money, while others took second and third jobs or sold blood plasma to cover basic expenses. Major airports nationwide experienced significantly longer security wait times as staffing shortages compounded the crisis affecting thousands of federal workers and millions of travelers.