CHAD PERGRAM: Ongoing DHS shutdown setting precedent for future crises

If you think the congressional appropriations process can’t get any worse, I offer you 2026 and maybe beyond.

The Department of Homeland Security is still closed, working on pocket linings, coins lost in couch cushions, and faded S&H Green Stamps (look it up, kids). Congress has not funded DHS in two months. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., opposed, then supported, then failed to act on a Senate-approved package to fund most of DHS, turning himself into a political pretzel.

As we always say, it’s a matter of math, and when it comes to DHS money, lawmakers seem to have locked a box where the combination is missing. There doesn’t appear to be a string of votes in the House and Senate that could break DHS coffers as a traditional, standalone appropriations bill.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHY TRUMP MAY NOT FORCE CONGRESS TO RETURN AFTER DHS SHUTDOWN.

Now Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump are turning to one of the few ways to fund DHS that might work; This is called budget reconciliation.

The congressional budget reconciliation process is not generally used for appropriations bills; But lawmakers could flood the measure with money to spend on federal programs. But compromise is instilled from bandits. So Republicans don’t need 60 votes. If they keep their narrow coalitions together in both the House and the Senate, they can pass a DHS bill seemingly without help from Democrats.

Congressional Republicans plan to stuff this compromise package with money just for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. There is nothing about disaster relief. There is nothing for farmers. Nothing about the SAVE America Act. The President agrees. The goal is to have this completed by June 1, after the last DHS funding expires.

But the situation is more complex than that.

GOP INTERNAL CONFLICT REPLACES CONFLICT WITH DEMS, SPOILERS PATH TO END HISTORICAL DHS SHUTDOWN

The House and Senate must take a series of steps to approve the shell of a budget resolution to provide them with a filibuster-proof reconciliation tool. Republicans made a similar effort last winter and spring. It was absolutely heartbreaking that the One, Big, Beautiful Bill was finally approved by consensus and consumed many months. Republicans don’t have that time anymore. DHS, on the other hand, has been either unfunded or held together by temporary spending bills since last October.

We haven’t even mentioned how Trump used somewhat questionable authority to pay TSA workers and other funds without Congressional approval.

Travelers experience long wait times at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (left, center) and Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (right) on Sunday, March 22, 2026, due to a partial government shutdown. (WVUE)

This leads some to question why the administration did not do this initially. But the larger problem is the alarming pattern of Congress ceding its most valuable prerogative — the power of the budget — to the executive branch. This is to say nothing of whether Trump’s gambit to pay workers is constitutional. And it sets a precedent that may be hard to ignore in other financing impasses.

But there’s a bigger problem here: Congress’s paralysis in passing appropriations bills on time. There has been this problem for years.

Historically, Congress has missed the October 1 fiscal deadline by relying on “Continuing Resolutions” (CRs) that temporarily renew all funding. Or lawmakers are bundling together 12 years of spending bills into a “van” appropriations package. Legislators who might oppose an individual bill are willing to support a group bill because there is something in it that they like or support.

But turning to reconciliation as a way out of the appropriations bin canyon is also another precedent that likely irritates appropriators in Congress. Certainly. They’ve done this before. And in this case, funding can finally be obtained from DHS. So what does this mean for the future?

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said congressional Democrats received “zero” reforms to the DHS funding agreement. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

This brings us to October 1, 2026. This is when the federal government transitions from Fiscal Year 2026 to Fiscal Year 2027.

Congress has struggled to fund the federal government since early 2025, when it began working on appropriations bills for this year. The Fiscal 26 funding crisis, which led to a record-breaking 43-day governmentwide shutdown in the fall, another partial government shutdown last winter and the current DHS stalemate, has been an issue since lawmakers were working on bills for this cycle this time LAST spring. So how will Congress avoid a shutdown THIS fall for Fiscal Year 2027?

In fact, few people even talk about this potential danger; because no one can understand the current appropriations saga. And it’s possible that this fall’s problems will be worse than last fall’s stalemate. Why? Midterm elections took place in November. It’s doubtful either side will be willing to make a big deal right before voters head to the polls.

Scenarios are scary to understand, so people ignore them.

SEE: DHS EMPLOYEES GOT FREE DURING RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN, ATTORNEYS WERE CAUGHT ON VACATION

We have entered a new era of quasi-permanent funding impasses, exacerbated by distrust between the parties, narrow congressional margins in both the House and Senate, parliamentary math equations that don’t balance, and Trump’s reluctance to broker deals or even negotiate with Democrats.

Yes. There are options to cover DHS by next year, but there may be 11 other spending bills that are problematic.

Imagine trying to pass a defense spending bill with a price tag that is 44% higher than last year. Or is he allocating a lot of money for the war in Iran?

Where is the combination of votes that will approve the CR, let alone the individual bill? Will Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) be willing to help Republicans clear the 60-vote threshold for funding? Especially if he sees the possibility of reemerging as Majority Leader? Probably not.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DY, and Senate Democrats are not backing down from their list of DHS demands as the partial government shutdown continues. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Suppose Democrats won the House, the Senate, or both in the fall? Do you really think these spending impasses will improve in the last two years of Trump’s term?

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Let’s go back to Chevy Chase and Clark Griswold. There’s a second part to that iconic quote from Christmas Vacation: “We’re on the brink of hell!” declares.

It’s pretty funny, but it’s not possible if you’re trying to keep the government open after last year’s adventures. This isn’t funny to the millions of federal workers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in their paychecks. A new spending turmoil could only further erode trust between federal workers and their employers. It will damage the morale that is already underground. This makes no sense in inviting people to work for the government.

Yes. Things could get much worse. Political divisions run deep and the voting matrices to pass bills do not exist.

It may be spring, but the movie Christmas Vacation offers insight into where we stand on Congressional appropriations bills: “It’s Christmas and we’re all miserable,” says Ellen Griswold, played by Beverly D’Angelo.

Yes. And wait to see what Congress has in store for THIS Christmas.

Chad Pergram currently serves as FOX News Channel’s (FNC) Chief Congressional Correspondent. It joined the network in September 2007 and is headquartered in Washington, DC.