03.16.26

False Pretenses, Political Games, and Missed Paychecks – A Tale of Two Shutdowns

Democrats Have Shut Down the Government Twice This Fiscal Year for Political Purposes, and It’s Americans and Government Employees Paying the Price

DEMOCRATS HAVE KEPT THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SHUT DOWN FOR OVER A MONTH IN A QUEST TO DEFUND BORDER SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION LAW ENFORCEMENT

“In so many respects, we depend on DHS to protect the homeland and protect the American people, and it’s being used right now as a political football. In general, we have to get out of the business of linking a major policy disagreement in Washington with funding the government.” – Former Obama administration Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson

  • Senate Democrats have blocked funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 11 times, either via roll call vote or by objecting to unanimous consent requests. (H.R. 7147: Roll Call Vote #38 – 2/12/26; H.R. 7147: Roll Call Vote #39 – 2/24/26; H.R. 7147: Roll Call Vote #47 – 3/5/26; H.R. 7147: Roll Call Vote #54 – 3/12/26; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 172 No. 30 – 2/12/26; The Hill: Senate Democrats block bill to fund DHS, spurning increased GOP pressure – 3/5/26; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 172 No. 45 – 3/11/26; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 172 No. 46 – 3/12/26)
  • According to Senate Appropriations Committee Democrats, the FY26 DHS funding bill they walked away from included a number of their priorities regarding Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):
    • “Allocates $20 million that must be used for the purchase and operation of bodyworn cameras for ICE and CBP officers interacting with members of the public when conducting immigration enforcement operations.”
    • “Directs the Department to ensure additional de-escalation training for ICE and CBP officers interacting with the public in communities across the country.”
    • “Directs the Department to train all law enforcement personnel, including ICE and CBP officers and agents, on Americans’ right to record any interactions they have with them.”
    • “Establishes—and funds—oversight of and transparency around how DHS is spending the $190 billion it was provided in OBBBA (which is nearly triple the total annual appropriation for DHS).” (U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Democrats: BILL SUMMARY: Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Bill – 1/20/26)
  • Democrats’ shutdown is impeding ongoing internal DHS investigations: “The partial government shutdown… is throwing the fate of oversight at the Department of Homeland Security into peril, with the department’s independent watchdog warning a lapse in funding could jeopardize several ongoing investigations.” (Politico: DHS watchdog warns shutdown could imperil immigration enforcement oversight – 2/15/26)
  • Rather than vote to reopen the department, Senate Democrats tried to pass a bill that would have defunded ICE and CBP, including: (The New York Times: Senate Democrats Block D.H.S. Funding Again Over Enforcement Guardrails – 3/5/26)
    • Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which “conducts federal criminal investigations into the illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons and sensitive technology into, out of and through the United States.” HSI also prevents “terrorists and other bad actors from entering the country and harming our people.” (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Who We Are – accessed 3/16/26)
    • Enforcement and Removal Operations, which works with state and local law enforcement “to identify and remove criminal aliens.” (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Enforcement and Removal Operations – accessed 3/16/26)

LAST FALL, DEMOCRATS SHUT DOWN THE ENTIRE GOVERNMENT FOR 43 DAYS TO APPEASE THEIR PROGRESSIVE BASE. THEY SAID THEY WANTED TO FIX THEIR OWN HEALTH CARE CRISIS, BUT INSTEAD TRIED REPEATEDLY TO MAKE IT WORSE.

  • Democrats’ shutdown last fall was always political and doomed to fail: “Shutdowns almost always end when the party that wants to add items to a stopgap bill agrees to reopen the government. But taking a stand — even if it doesn’t lead to significant concessions — gives Democrats an opportunity to take on Trump.” (Bloomberg: Democrats Leverage US Shutdown to Try to Dent Trump’s Dominance – 9/30/25; NOTUS: The Democratic Base Is Very Happy With Their Members In Congress — For Once – 10/29/25)
    • “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has been closely coordinating his shutdown strategy with outside liberal groups.” (Axios: "Keep fighting": Democratic lawmakers squeezed on government shutdown – 10/2/25)
  • “[Democrats] rejected a ‘clean’ funding proposal and demanded significant and expensive health care policy changes in exchange for their votes.” (Punchbowl News: AM: Schumer on the shutdown: 'Every day gets better for us' – 10/9/25)
  • Democrats also wanted to repeal health care provisions in Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts law, arguing that the law would destroy Medicaid. (Punchbowl News: AM: Dems, GOP dig in as shutdown nears – 9/18/25)
  • Because of this pressure from progressives, many Democrats, including Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) refused to vote to re-open the government even as Republicans pledged to hold votes on the policies Democrats were demanding. (Fox News: Government enters longest full shutdown in US history with no end in sight – 10/22/25; CNN: Schumer didn’t vote for bill to reopen the government. He’s facing liberal fury anyway. – 11/11/25)
  • Democrats’ main argument on Medicaid funding was not based in reality. According to the Congressional Budget Office, even with the reforms included in Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts law, Medicaid spending continues to grow:

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(Paragon Health Institute’s Brian Blase: post on X – 2/18/26)

THE COMMON DENOMINATOR OF BOTH SHUTDOWNS? AMERICANS AND ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT WORKERS SUFFERED WHILE WORKING WITHOUT PAY AS DEMOCRATS GLOATED ABOUT THEIR SHUTDOWN TACTICS

“Every day gets better for us.” – Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (10/8/25)

“Of course there will be families that are going to suffer… but it is one of the few leverage times we have.” – House Democrat Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) (10/22/25)

“We are very serene with what is going on.” – Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) (3/11/26)

  • During Democrats’ record-breaking 43-day shutdown of the entire government last year, Americans suffered significant hardship:
    • 42 million Americans who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits lost access to these services, forcing enormous strain on food banks nationwide. (Axios: Food banks brace for 42 million without SNAP – 10/27/25; ABC News: Some Americans prepare for halt in SNAP benefits: 'I’m going to have hungry kids' – 10/27/25)
    • The shutdown triggered “a wave of closures of Head Start centers, leaving working parents scrambling for child care and shutting some of the nation's neediest children out of preschool.” (Associated Press: Some Head Start preschools shutter as government shutdown continues – 11/3/25)
    • “According to the National Head Start Association, approximately 140 Head Start programs nationwide, serving roughly 65,000 children” were impacted. (CBS News: Head Start programs begin to close as funding ends during government shutdown – 10/31/25)
  • And this time around, 120,000 DHS employees, including 50,000 TSA agents, are going without pay:
    • “Unscheduled absences among airport security officers have more than doubled during the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown, with more than 300 employees leaving the agency since the start of the DHS shutdown, according to internal TSA statistics obtained exclusively by CBS News.” (CBS News: TSA absences double during shutdown, 300 officers quit, as some airports see longer security lines – 3/10/26)
    • “Travelers struggled with hourslong security lines at some airports as officials warned of Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages amid the partial government shutdown.” (CNBC: TSA staff shortages lead to hourslong security lines for travelers at some airports – 3/8/26)
    • “With no resolution in sight, some airports have asked travelers to donate grocery and gas gift cards, hygiene items and diapers to fill in the gap for people missing pay. Government employees—whether they worked or not during a funding lapse—are typically made whole when the shutdown ends.” (The Wall Street Journal: Frustrated Senators Dig In on DHS Funding Fight – 3/12/26)