US House speaker blames Democrats for partial shutdown at Homeland Security Department

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Saturday accused Democrats of risking public safety amid a looming funding lapse for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), warning that essential services could be disrupted.

"Here we go again. The new Democrat shutdown -- this time of the Dept. of Homeland Security -- will hit some very important programs like FEMA disaster response, TSA (Transportation Safety Authority) security lines, and Coast Guard operations," Johnson said on the US social media platform X.

The partial government shutdown at the DHS began early Saturday after Congress did not pass a funding bill before the Friday midnight deadline, with Democrats blocking the measure, demanding reforms to DHS and especially its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency whose aggressive crackdowns in US cities have met widespread opposition.

Johnson said that the shutdown would lead to delayed disaster assistance, airport disruptions, and weakened law enforcement capabilities.

"Democrats are once again risking public safety just to stage a pointless political stunt," he added.

The shutdown follows weeks of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans on reforms to immigration enforcement and oversight of agencies such as ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

- Democrats demand stronger oversight of ICE

DHS is now the only federal agency without funding for the remainder of fiscal year 2026, which continues through Sept. 30, while lawmakers have already approved spending bills covering the rest of the government since a record-long shutdown ended in November.

The latest funding measure, passed at the end of January, gave DHS a two-week extension to allow Congress additional time to negotiate changes to the agency’s immigration enforcement practices -- a stipulation pushed by Senate Democrats following the killing of two Americans by ICE agents in the state of Minnesota in January.

Democrats have insisted on stronger oversight and tighter limits on immigration enforcement -- including banning the use of masks by ICE officers, requiring body cameras to remain on, and mandating visible identification -- as a condition for supporting the funding bill.

They say ICE agents were deployed to American cities in the name of "public safety," but instead have left the public feeling terrorized, traumatized, and much less safe.

As Republicans have rejected the Democrats’ demands and called them "unreasonable," the Senate failed to advance a measure Thursday to fund the department, with lawmakers in both chambers leaving Washington without a deal.

The funding lapse affects DHS and its constellation of agencies, including the Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Without funding, many of the workers deemed essential will be forced to work without pay, or furloughed, while others will be told to stay home.

But two of the agencies that have stoked Democratic furor amid President Donald Trump's migrant crackdown, ICE and CBP, are unlikely to suffer major operational effects from the partial shutdown through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was passed last year.

Lawmakers are expected to resume negotiations in an effort to end the partial shutdown, though there was no immediate indication of when a vote might occur.

If the partial shutdown drags on, tens of thousands of federal workers could be required to continue to work without pay, while some agencies might be compelled to scale back staffing levels until funding is restored.