Shutdown stalemate over ICE threatens service members, FEMA, TSA

The nation’s airlines and members of the military may once again bear the brunt of a government shutdown as lawmakers remain deadlocked on how to avoid a Feb. 1 government shutdown.

Democrats on Thursday withdrew from a bipartisan agreement to fund the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Health and Human Services. This means that services may be limited or stopped altogether in these areas due to lack of funding.

This could be a smaller repeat of the 43-day shutdown in October over Democrats’ demands for health care. This time the payment crunch will be tighter.

While employees in the Legislature, Justice Department, Interior Department and many other agencies can expect to continue receiving paychecks, the failure of the Defense bill still threatens military paychecks.

“Too often our hard-working men and women, especially those in the Armed Forces, “Their livelihoods have been held hostage by political nonsense in Congress over disagreements on unrelated issues,” Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., a member of the Armed Services Committee, said Thursday.

His thoughts echoed those of another committee member, Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga. It was also reiterated by .

“Our military members have already endured a Schumer-made government shutdown and should not be subjected to another,” Scott said.

As with the last shutdown, the funding logjam also threatens airport employees who work for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which is part of the DHS package. In October, several weeks without paychecks caused flight delays and cancellations as workers needed to ensure flight safety (such as air traffic controllers) began looking for side gigs and alternative sources of income.

Repeated travel delays are a particular concern for Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, who said his constituents could be particularly hurt during a season when the state is particularly reliant on imports.

Rep. Nicholas Begich, R-Alaska, right, photographed near the Anchorage airport. (Michael Siluk/Getty; Bill Clark/Getty)

“Our state depends on aviation for nearly everything, and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is one of the busiest cargo airports in the world. A failure anywhere in the system due to a government shutdown could mean a family in Utqiaġvik missing a critical medical appointment in Anchorage or food and cargo deliveries in remote communities being delayed for days,” Begich said.

“Disruptions due to closures and understaffing raise real safety concerns in Alaska, especially during the winter months,” he added.

Besides transportation and military payments, a second shutdown could also affect government services like Medicaid and Medicare. Because of compromised funding in the HHS bill, the country could face a similar bottleneck in accessing health care for low-income, disabled, and elderly people.

When asked about these potential areas of closure, Sen. Jack Reed, R-Dr.-I., said voters should take that into consideration.

“I think people need to weigh the consequences of the administration,” Reed said.

DEMS’ DHS CLOSURE THREAT WILL HIT FEMA, TSA, IMMIGRATION FUNDS WILL REMAIN HEALTHY

The War Department declined to comment on when soldiers would receive their next paychecks or whether they thought they would be at risk of being delivered on time.

Federal agents arrested a man on Lake Street in Minneapolis on January 14, 2026. (Washington Post via Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

The four-bill spending package failed in the Senate on Thursday when Senate Democrats and seven Senate Republicans derailed a procedural vote needed to advance the package.

Lawmakers are divided on the DHS portion of the package.

The legislation comes without significant demands from Democrats regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which operates within DHS.

KEY SENATOR SAYS ICE WON’T FUND DHS, FEDERAL AGENTS ENTER STATE

Following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti earlier this month — the second deadly clash between immigration officials and civilians in January — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats said their support hinged on tightening ICE’s warrant requirements, ending roving patrols, requiring ICE to work jointly with state and local law enforcement, a uniform code of conduct, a no-mask policy and a body camera mandate.

Senate Republicans are currently trying to overcome roadblocks built within their own ranks. A handful in the Senate GOP are frustrated with the nature of the compromise agreement reached by Trump and Schumer, the billions of dollars in earmarks included in the original package and the repeal of a provision that allowed senators to sue for $500,000 in phone records subpoenaed by former Special Counsel Jack Smith as part of the Arctic Frost investigation.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY) held a joint press conference at the U.S. Capitol on January 8, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ Polling, Inc. via Getty Images)

The upper house hopes to complete its work on the new package on Friday evening and send the amended package to Parliament.

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DesJarlais said he believes Democrats can continue to push for the changes they want to see without putting parts of the government at risk.

“This needs to stop,” DesJarlais said of political gridlock. “There are many other ways for Democrats to achieve their policy goals rather than resorting to tactics designed to post things on social media profiles.”