REPORT: DHS Shutdown May Be Over Soon As Senate Races Toward Off Ramp

March 24, 2026

From the Daily Caller: Following a breakthrough Monday night meeting between Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump, a deal to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security may finally be in sight after a costly, prolonged government shutdown.

The talks centered on funding all Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and instead tackling the law enforcement agency in a separate reconciliation bill — a deal Trump initially turned down on Sunday. The lawmakers went to the Oval Office to advance the proposal after Trump called on the upper chamber to stay in session through a two-week Easter recess if DHS remained shut down.

A White House official said Tuesday — the 39th day of the Democratic-driven partial shutdown — that the deal being workshopped “seems to be an acceptable solution,” according to Politico.

Republican Sens. Katie Britt, Lindsey Graham, Bernie Moreno and Steve Daines led the negotiation, and Britt committed to working through Monday night to exchange legislative text, which is still fluid. A hard line for the president was to include the SAVE America Act in the reconciliation bill alongside ICE funding, but the House Freedom Caucus (HFC) is skeptical about joining the two, calling the move “gaslighting” and “failure theater.”

The report explains that the reconciliation process only requires 51 votes, but is limited to budgetary items.

However, Sen. Bernie Moreno mysteriously wrote on X Tuesday afternoon, “Time kills all deals.”

The meaning of his post is unclear.

Time kills all deals.

— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) March 24, 2026

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) declared, “To my Democratic colleagues: Don’t wait for another terrorist attack to get serious about protecting America’s security. Reopen DHS NOW.”

To my Democratic colleagues: Don’t wait for another terrorist attack to get serious about protecting America’s security.

Reopen DHS NOW.

— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) March 24, 2026