Hearing Report: House Hearing on Impacts of a Potential DHS Shutdown
February 11, 2026
With the current continuing resolution (CR) covering the Department of Homeland Security expiring at midnight on Friday, February 13, the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the impacts of a shutdown on DHS agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration. Democrats and Republicans have yet to agree to pass another CR to allow more time to negotiate an agreement on Democrats’ demands to put more restrictions on immigration enforcement and border security activities in the final FY26 DHS spending bill.
In Chair Mark Amodei’s (R-NV) opening statement, he noted that absent passage of another continuing resolution by Friday night, “it is probable that DHS will shut down”. Border and immigration enforcement activities will largely function during a shutdown because of funding provided in the One Big Beautiful Bill. The pain will be felt by other DHS agencies, like TSA, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Secret Service, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Leaders from those agencies, including TSA Acting Administrator Ha McNeill, testified about the potential consequences at this hearing today.
Impacts of a Shutdown on TSA:
McNeill’s statement focused on the need for Congress to finalize funding for TSA so that the agency can pay its workforce, ensure operational consistency and predictability, and plan for and deploy upgraded, state-of-the-art technology to airports nationwide.
Personnel: McNeill explained that 61,000 (or about 95 percent) of TSA’s employees must work during a shutdown, while not getting paid. She highlighted that many Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) work paycheck to paycheck and provided specific examples about the strains these employees experienced. McNeill’s written statement noted that “During a shutdown, the ability to pay for rent, bills, groceries, childcare, and gas just to get to work becomes very challenging, leading to increased unscheduled absences (call outs) as a shutdown progresses. Higher call outs can result in longer wait times at checkpoints, leading to missed or delayed flights.” In response to a question, McNeill stated that at some airports, unscheduled absences were three times higher than usual. She also testified that the prior 43-day shutdown in the fall of 2025 resulted in 25 percent more TSOs separating from federal service as compared to the previous year, citing missed paychecks and financial hardships.
If a shutdown were to occur after February 13th, based on the current federal pay cycle, TSA and other DHS employees would not miss a partial paycheck until the beginning of March and would not miss a full paycheck until mid-March.
Technology: McNeil also highlighted that “a shutdown would impact TSA’s technology deployment timelines. A shutdown would delay technology improvements and deployments, preventing us from giving our workforce the tools they need to do their jobs and carry out this mission, and our ability to handle year over year passenger volume growth, in addition to preparing for large world events” like the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
What’s Next:
Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Thune filed cloture on a motion to proceed to the House-passed H.R.7147, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026, that Republicans could use as a shell for either another continuing resolution or a final DHS funding deal. At this point, Majority Leader Thune would almost certainly need a CR “to buy more time" but it is unclear how long another CR would last, noting it would be "subject to whatever is negotiated with the Democrats" and "if it looks like they are making sufficient progress that they are willing to vote for a CR."
At this time, Democrats in both the Senate and the House have said that they would not support another CR and that there is still time to quickly reach a deal on immigration enforcement policies that could be enacted into a final FY26 DHS spending bill before midnight February 13th. At the hearing today, Chair Amodei said that he thought “that was a tall order”.
Also at today’s hearing, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced a bill to fully fund every DHS agency, including TSA, for the remainder of the fiscal year except Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Office of the Secretary.
We will continue to provide updates on the state-of-play for DHS funding as the week progresses.
Additional Details:
For additional information about this hearing, you can find the five opening statements and hearing video on the House Appropriations Committee website.
