Senate approves DHS deal to bring end to airport chaos - but Republicans pay steep price

By ROSS IBBETSON, ASSOCIATE EDITOR 10:55 27 Mar 2026, updated 13:17 27 Mar 2026

The Senate has approved a deal to fund TSA and most DHS agencies - but not ICE - ending a 42-day shutdown that has thrown America's airports into chaos.

The bill, passed unanimously without a roll call, now goes to the House, which is expected to take it up Friday. 

Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune admitted the bill was 'not the way to fund the Department. But, we were out of time.'

'The Dems wanted reforms,' Thune said. 'We tried to work with them on reforms. They ended up getting no reforms but, you know, we're going to have to fight some of those battles another day.'

The endgame emerged in the final hours before TSA workers missed another paycheck Friday, with pressure mounting to resolve the stalemate.  

Donald Trump vowed to sign an executive order to immediately pay TSA agents, citing the 'chaos' engulfing airports. 

The package puts no limits on ICE which Democrats have demanded, though Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer touted the vote as a victory, claiming 'we held the line' and vowing to continue the fight against Trump's 'rogue' immigration operation.

ICE has remained largely unaffected by the shutdown - Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law last July, funneled billions in extra funds to DHS. 

The deal funds FEMA, the Coast Guard and TSA but leaves ICE out. Customs received funding; Border Protection did not. 

What happens next in the House is far from certain. Speaker Mike Johnson holds a slim majority and will almost certainly need bipartisan support, with hardliners on both flanks in revolt. 

Thune admitted he was not sure what the House would do but believed his colleagues also wanted to approve a deal as the TSA shutdown is causing misery to millions of passengers.

'I mean, the House is aware of what we're contemplating and they're probably anxious to take this up ... hopefully they'll be around [Friday] and we can get at least a lot of the government opened up again, and then we'll, we'll go from there,' he said.

But hardline Republicans have panned their own party's proposals, demanding full funding for immigration operations. Many have vowed to ensure ICE has the resources it needs in the next budget package to carry out Trump's agenda. 

'We will fully fund ICE. That is what this fight is about,' Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri said as he tried to offer legislation to fund the agency. 'The border is closing. The next task is deportation.'

Earlier Thursday, Thune announced he had given a 'last and final' offer to the Democrats. But as the day dragged on, action stalled out.

Democrats argued the GOP proposals have not gone far enough in restraining federal agents, pointing to the deaths of two Americans shot while protesting the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January. 

They want federal agents to wear identification, remove their face masks and refrain from conducting raids around schools, churches or other sensitive places.

Democrats have also pushed for an end of administrative warrants, insisting that judges sign off before agents search people's homes or private spaces - something new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said he is open to considering.

Trump had largely left the issue to Congress, but warned he was ready to take action, threatening to send the National Guard to airports in addition to his deployment of ICE agents who are now checking travelers' IDs.

The White House had floated the extraordinary move of invoking a national emergency to pay the TSA agents, a politically and legally fraught approach.

Trump's order would draw on funds from his 2025 tax bill to pay TSA agents, a senior administration official said. 

Should the House pass the package and send it to Trump's desk, his executive order to pay TSA agents could prove short-lived or unnecessary. 

The funding shutdown has resulted in travel delays and even warnings of airport closures as TSA workers missing paychecks stop coming to work.

Multiple airports are experiencing greater than 40 percent callout rates of TSA workers and nearly 500 of the agency's nearly 50,000 transportation security officers have quit during the shutdown.

Nationwide on Wednesday, more than 11 percent of the TSA employees on the schedule missed work, according to DHS. That is more than 3,120 callouts.

Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the union was grateful workers would be paid but demanded Congress stay in session to pass a deal 'that funds DHS, pays all DHS workers, and keeps these vital agencies running.'  

Melissa Gates, stranded at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, said she had waited more than two hours without reaching the security checkpoint and missed her flight to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with no alternative available until Friday. 

'I should have just driven, right?' Gates said. 'Five hours would have been hilarious next to this.'