DHS to again stop paying employees in May if shutdown continues

The Homeland Security Department will run out funds to continue paying employees next month, the agency’s head said this week, opening the possibility for the DHS to resume normal shutdown activities as the lapse carries on into its third month. 

President Trump earlier this month signed a memorandum to order the immediate pay for the ongoing work DHS employees are doing during the shutdown, as well as back pay they earned since the department’s funding lapsed on Feb. 14. More than 100,000 employees who had either been working without pay or furloughed quickly began receiving their checks, while the majority of DHS employees have been paid throughout the shutdown using previously appropriated funds. 

DHS spends $1.6 billion on payroll every two weeks, Mullin said on Fox News on Tuesday, and the leftover funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that the department has been tapping into are set to run dry after the first pay period in May. 

“There is no more emergency fund,” Mullin said. “So the president can't do another executive order for us to use money money because there's no more money there.” 

Normally, around 92% of DHS employees work during a shutdown without immediate pay, while the remaining part of the workforce is placed in furlough status and sent home. After Trump signed his order, however, DHS recalled all of its furloughed employees back into active status, according to a memorandum obtained by Government Executive. Mullin did not specify what would happen to those employees when existing funds run out next month, though they are likely to be placed back into furlough status. 

“DHS is using available funds to ensure employees are paid,” agency leadership told employees earlier this month. “Should the department exhaust currently available funds before an FY 2026 appropriation for DHS is enacted, you will receive a new notification of your work status at that time.”

The shutdown has now dragged on for more than two months and entered its 67th day on Wednesday, by far the longest lapse—either governmentwide or more targeted—in history. Late last month, the Senate unanimously approved a negotiated agreement to fund all non-immigration DHS agencies. The House has so far refused to bring the bill up for a vote, with some members suggesting Republicans would wait until Congress makes progress on funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to do so. 

Senate Republicans took a first step to approving the funding for Trump’s immigration crackdown on Tuesday when it advanced a procedural motion to kick off the process known as budget reconciliation. The lawmakers are looking to use reconciliation to approve multi-year funds for ICE and CBP without requiring any Democratic support, though the a quick resolution is still not expected. Mullin said funding those agencies for the remainder of Trump’s term would enable them to function without risk of further shutdowns. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Wednesday that Republicans were intentionally keeping the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard and other “law-abiding” DHS agencies shut down despite Democrats agreeing to fund them. 

“Republicans are at each other’s throats, tying their party up in knots,” Schumer said. “Democrats stand united, and we stand firm.”

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., predicted his party’s new plan would finally bring an end to the current standoff. 

“We have a multistep process ahead of us, but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America’s borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies,” Thune said.