Aren’t all these government shutdowns getting old? 

I certainly think so. 

And if you’re one of the millions of Americans who fly every day, this latest shutdown is likely making your life much harder. 

For the past month and a half, Congress has remained locked in a standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which notably houses the Transportation Security Administration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also falls under the DHS umbrella, and is the root cause of this latest standoff. More on that in a bit. 

TSA workers don’t appreciate not getting paid. Hundreds of them have quit, and at least 10% of the workforce aren’t showing up to work. This has led to hours-long lines and missed flights at some of the country’s largest airports – at a time when many families are trying to celebrate their spring break. 

Instead of doing their most basic job – funding the government – lawmakers are playing games and offloading blame to members of the opposing party. 

Democrats failed in their shutdown last year. Did they learn nothing? 

Perhaps Democrats have forgotten, but it was only a few short months ago that they forced a 43-day government shutdown – the longest on record. And they emerged from it with nothing of note. 

They didn’t get the concessions they wanted from Republicans on Obamacare subsidies. And public opinion in the end was not in their favor. 

A CBS News/YouGov poll found Americans – 60% of them – blamed Democrats the most for their handling of that shutdown. And more than half the country thought President Donald Trump and Republicans got more of what they wanted. 

What makes Democrats think this time will be any different? 

After the January shooting deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis at the hands of federal immigration agents, Democrats thought they’d have the upper hand to force “reforms” to how ICE operates. And they planned to hold up funding to do so. Democrats want changes in how warrants are issued and don’t want ICE agents to wear masks, among other demands. 

Since then, however, a lot has changed. On Feb. 28, the Trump administration started a war with Iran, which makes blocking U.S. security funding much harder to defend and very possibly dangerous. 

While Republicans in both the House and Senate have voted in favor of fully funding DHS, Senate Democrats (with the exception of Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman) have stubbornly refused to get on board. And some Democratic support is necessary in that chamber to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold. 

ICE is already funded, so the shutdown is a lost cause 

To make matters worse for Democrats, they don’t have much leverage when it comes to ICE. That’s because while TSA and other branches of DHS are out of money, ICE is not. 

In the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed in 2025, ICE received an influx of funding that will keep it fully funded for the next few years, separate from annual budget negotiations.

In recent days, it appears senators are getting closer to a deal that would include funding of DHS, with the exception of some ICE operations. (Congress’ spring break is set to start at the end of this week, so expect that to motivate an agreement. No one wants to miss their vacay.) Though this potential deal may sound like Republicans are giving in to Democrats, that’s far from the case. 

Key GOP senators like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have other plans in mind. On a recent episode of his podcast “Verdict,” Cruz detailed how he envisions that Republicans will simply later introduce a separate measure to fund ICE through the budget reconciliation process – a procedural option that allows for a simple majority vote on budget-related bills – and doesn’t rely on Democratic support. 

That’s how the Big Beautiful Bill got passed in 2025. Using budget reconciliation to fund agencies in this way comes with major risks of its own, as the Cato Institute has pointed out. That’s worth its own discussion.

For now, however, Democrats are causing a host of headaches for DHS employees and millions of Americans. 

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques

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