House GOP Rejects Senate DHS Bill, Calls It 'a Joke' as Shutdown Enters Day 42

The House of Representatives plunged the United States deeper into political gridlock Friday after Speaker Mike Johnson flatly rejected a Senate-passed bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, extending what is already the longest partial government shutdown in American history into its 42nd day. Johnson called the Senate proposal "crazy" and "a joke," announcing instead that House Republicans would advance their own stopgap measure to fund the entire agency — including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — for 60 days, a plan Senate Democrats immediately declared "dead on arrival."

The Senate had passed its funding measure in a rare late-night voice vote early Friday, providing money for the Transportation Security Administration, FEMA, and the Coast Guard but pointedly excluding ICE and border patrol amid Democratic opposition to funding immigration enforcement operations. The bill appeared to offer a path out of a crisis that has produced the highest TSA wait times in the agency's history, with call-out rates among security officers climbing to 11.83 percent on Friday alone — representing more than 3,450 personnel absent from their posts. At Baltimore-Washington International Airport, travelers faced three-hour security lines. At Houston's Bush Intercontinental, passengers were arriving seven and eight hours before their flights to clear checkpoints.

President Trump sought to navigate the impasse with characteristic unilateralism. He signed an executive order Friday directing DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to begin paying TSA agents immediately, citing the crisis as a national emergency threatening airport security. The administration said funding from Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" would finance the payments, with TSA workers expected to begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday, March 30. "Because the Democrats have recklessly created a true National Crisis, I am using my authorities under the Law to protect our Great Country," Trump posted on social media before signing the order. Mullin praised the action, calling on Democrats to "stop playing political games" and reopen the department.

The human cost of the standoff has become undeniable. Approximately 61,000 TSA workers have now missed two full paychecks and one partial paycheck since DHS funding lapsed on February 14, representing more than $1 billion in withheld wages. Since the shutdown began, 510 TSA officers have quit outright — a figure that has alarmed aviation security experts who warn it could take years to rebuild a depleted workforce. Acting TSA Administrator Stephanie Pope testified before Congress that the agency is "significantly undermined" by the shutdown, warning that full airport closures remain a real possibility if the standoff continues. Major hubs including Atlanta, Baltimore, and Houston have been hit especially hard.

The political impasse reflects a deeper fracture within the Republican coalition. Conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus have insisted on full funding for ICE and border patrol, making bipartisan compromise structurally difficult. Procedural rules prevent fast-tracking legislation on Fridays, and with the Senate on recess and Democrats unmoved on immigration enforcement funding, both chambers appear likely to remain at loggerheads through at least the weekend. Johnson told reporters that his 60-day stopgap represented the only responsible path forward, but Democrats and several Senate Republicans said privately that funding ICE in the same bill that ends the shutdown would be politically impossible. With spring break travel in full swing and no deal in sight, the standoff shows no signs of ending before the weekend.