DHS Shutdown Persists as Democrats Reject Trump-Backed Offer

Travelers wait in line outside a TSA checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on March 23.
Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Erik Wasson, Steven T. Dennis, and Alicia Diaz

March 24, 2026 at 5:04 PM UTC

Updated on

March 24, 2026 at 7:16 PM UTC

Senate Democrats have rejected the latest offer from President Donald Trump and Republicans to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security and end a lengthy shutdown that has snarled airport security checkpoints and threatened to ripple through an economy already roiled by the Iran war.

The Republican plan does not include any of the policy proposals Democrats have insisted on in their fight to overhaul Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics following the killings of two protesters in Minneapolis by agents earlier this year.