The Senate failed to end the partial government shutdown on Friday as Democrats — for the second time in less than a year — continue to withhold their votes to reopen the government over a policy dispute.
The upper chamber, plagued by attendance issues, fell short of the 60-vote threshold in a 47-37 vote on the 35th day of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, leaving Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees without pay during one of the busiest travel seasons of the year. The vote took place during a break in debate over the SAVE America Act which has been ongoing since Tuesday and will stretch into the weekend. (RELATED: TSA Calls To End Now 25 Day ‘Democrat Shutdown’ With Airport Lines Out The Door, Terror Threats Abounding)
Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the lone Democrat to cross the aisle in favor of reopening the government — a stance he has held since the beginning of the partial shutdown. In addition to the TSA, the standoff has also rattled other agencies operating under DHS such as the Coast Guard, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The rest of Fetterman’s party has remained united in voting down opportunities to fund the entire department until their demanded sweeping reforms to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are agreed upon. They also happen to be the only two agencies within the department that are funded due to the GOP-backed One Big, Beautiful Bill Act’s (OBBBA) passage in July.
Senate Republicans have given Democrats more than a dozen opportunities to fund TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and federal law enforcement, and they’ve rejected them at every turn.
Release the hostage. Fund DHS. Give a paycheck to these employees who’ve been working without pay. https://t.co/GE0UBLMWTF
— Ryan Wrasse (@RWrasse) March 20, 2026
The DHS shutdown’s timeframe is second only to the fall 2025 government shutdown that left the House of Representatives shuttered and federal employees without paychecks for a record-breaking 43 days. Democrats withheld their votes over extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, something they did not secure.
Republican North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven told the Daily Caller News Foundation the White House has made some “serious offers” in response to Democrats’ asks, and there has been progress in bipartisan talks with Border Czar Tom Homan, which began Thursday.
“[Homan] has a lot of credibility. He did a very good job in Minneapolis, St Paul, and obviously there’s been changes at DHS in the leadership,” Hoeven told the DCNF. “If [Democrats] decide to walk away, they’re giving up really common sense things. And I think people see that, and with these TSA lines, I think that is putting more pressure than it has to come to the table.”
However, Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, who was not participating in the meetings, told the DCNF that DHS negotiations remain at a standstill.
“It is clear to me that because of their politics and the people in charge of their party, the Democrats will never agree to to any reasonable changes with respect to ICE, because their their base will interpret any kind of agreement reasonable or otherwise as a vote to defund ICE,” he said Friday.
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