Funding for the Department of Homeland Security resumed after a 75-day shutdown — but Democrats are already threatening to cut funding again in September if their demands are not met.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), a ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Democrats would “absolutely” shut down DHS again if Republicans do not agree to proposed reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — such as banning law enforcement officers from wearing masks and requiring judicial warrants for immigration-related arrests.
“In America, police shouldn’t wear masks while walking the streets,” Thompson said, ignoring the dramatic uptick in threats and violent assaults against immigration enforcement officers and their families. “They need identification, they need cameras, and they need judicial warrants.”
NEW: Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) says Democrats “absolutely” may shut down DHS again in September if the ICE/CBP reforms they demanded aren’t included in the next DHS approps bill. Dems failed to get any reforms with this shutdown & GOP plans to go around them to fund ICE/CBP. https://t.co/FOjRZcXOvf
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 2, 2026
The House of Representatives ended the record-setting shutdown on Thursday after passing a bill funding most of the DHS — including the Transportation Security Administration and the Secret Service — through the end of September. ICE and Customs and Border Patrol were left out of the measure. Republicans are relying on a reconciliation bill — which would let the Senate bypass the 60-vote procedural threshold and thus the Democrats’ demands — to move ahead with funding for ICE and CBP.
The shutdown began in February after Democrats refused to approve DHS funding unless Republicans agreed to include sweeping federal immigration enforcement reforms. Travelers spent hours in TSA security lines at major airports, and the Coast Guard faced utility shutoffs at military installations.
Despite the hardships shouldered by everyday Americans during such shutdowns, Thompson was clear that Democrats are willing to trigger another shutdown if they do not get what they want.
CNN’s Victor Blackwell pressed Thompson on his answer, asking whether Democrats were willing to force government employees to go without pay again.
“When you say ‘absolutely,’ that suggests that there could be another shutdown, and there could be another lapse in pay for those TSA workers, the Coast Guard, if Democrats withhold those votes at the end of September,” Blackwell said.
“Absolutely. Victor, look, we have to stand for democracy. If we have to fight for it, there has to be sacrifice,” Thompson added, apparently unconcerned with the fact that it would be average American families making the “sacrifice” he was so quick to offer.
