The TSA officers who kept America’s airports running for six weeks without paychecks will finally receive their wages. The immigration agents at the center of the dispute will not.

In a 2:30 a.m. voice vote Friday, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved funding for most of the Department of Homeland Security—excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and parts of Customs and Border Protection. The partial government shutdown that paralyzed airports across the country appears to be ending, though the political standoff that triggered it remains entirely unresolved.

The legislation now heads to the Republican-controlled House for a vote expected as early as Friday.

Chaos at the Checkpoints

For travelers, the shutdown became visceral. At Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport, 43 percent of TSA officers called out of work this week. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson and New York’s JFK saw absence rates near 37 percent. Airports in Houston and Atlanta warned passengers to expect waits of up to four hours at security checkpoints.

More than 480 TSA officers quit during the 42-day funding lapse, according to Department of Homeland Security figures. Ha Nguyen McNeill, the TSA’s acting administrator, told lawmakers Wednesday the agency was considering closing some airports entirely if staffing shortages continued.

“We are really concerned about our security posture and what the long term impacts of this shutdown is going to have on the workforce and our ability to carry out this mission,” McNeill said.

The 50,000 TSA officers affected had worked without pay since mid-February. On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced he would sign an executive order to pay them—using funds from last summer’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”—though the legal authority for such a move remained unclear.

What Democrats Got—and Didn’t

The compromise represents a retreat for both parties, but especially for Democrats who triggered the shutdown.

Democrats blocked DHS funding after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January. One was unarmed; another was legally carrying a firearm. Both confrontations began when ICE agents attempted immigration arrests.

For six weeks, Democrats demanded policy changes: an end to masked agents conducting raids, requirements for judicial warrants before arrests, and other restraints. They got none of them.

“Democrats held firm in our opposition that Donald Trump’s rogue and deadly militia should not get more funding without serious reforms,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday.

But the funding includes no reforms. What Democrats secured was the ability to keep pressing their case—by withholding funds for ICE and CBP while releasing money for TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA, and other agency functions.

What Comes Next

Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the outcome “unfortunate.”

“The Dems wanted reforms. We tried to work with them on reforms. They ended up getting no reforms,” Thune told reporters.

Republicans plan to fund immigration enforcement through the reconciliation process—a maneuver that bypasses Democratic opposition entirely. Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri warned that “the filibuster cannot save you.”

“What’s coming next will supercharge deportations,” Schmitt said.

ICE and CBP are not without resources. The agencies have nearly $140 billion remaining from last year’s megabill—far more than the $28 billion they were originally set to receive this fiscal year.

A System That Barely Functions

The resolution highlights a governing system struggling to perform basic functions. It took six weeks of airport chaos to produce a bill that funds part of an agency while leaving its most controversial divisions in limbo.

The shutdown would have broken the record Saturday for the longest funding lapse of any federal agency in U.S. history. Instead, senators passed a partial fix at 2:30 a.m. and left town for a two-week recess.

Everett Kelly, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA workers, said Congress should cancel its vacation.

“All DHS workers must be paid immediately,” Kelly said. “Congress needs to continue working to pass a real, bipartisan appropriations deal—even if that means canceling their upcoming vacation.”

The House vote will determine whether the partial shutdown actually ends. If approved, TSA officers will finally see paychecks. The broader fight over immigration enforcement will simply move to the next round.

Sources