DHS Shutdown: Congress Leaves After Key Hearings and Funding Failure

Congress Abandons DHS Amidst Shutdown

• 🚨 On February 13th, 2026, large portions of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faced a shutdown as Congress left for a week-long vacation.
• 💸 This shutdown impacts FEMA workers, TSA agents, Coast Guard crews, and Secret Service agents, who face unpaid work or delayed paychecks.
• ✈️ Many members of Congress departed for various destinations, including the Munich Security Conference, while critical government services were left unfunded.

Catastrophic Senate Hearings Unfold

• 🏛️ On February 12th, 2026, two simultaneous Senate hearings exposed significant issues within the administration.
• 🎥 Republican Senator Rand Paul challenged ICE and CBP chiefs, playing video of Alex Pretti's death by federal agents and stating that public trust in immigration enforcement is broken.
• 🇺🇸 Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison testified that his state felt "occupied" by 3,000 federal agents, leading to the deaths of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

State Department Nominee Implodes

• 💥 Jeremy Carl, Trump's nominee for a top State Department position, faced a humiliating confirmation hearing.
• 🎭 Carl struggled to define white identity, citing "white churches," "white food," and a Spanish-language Super Bowl halftime show as evidence of cultural erasure.
• 🚫 Republican Senator John Curtis opposed Carl's nomination due to his anti-Israel views and insensitive remarks about Jewish people, effectively killing the nomination.

Funding Failure and Accountability Demands

• ❌ Senate Republicans failed twice to advance DHS funding, unable to overcome a filibuster or secure unanimous consent for a stopgap bill.
• ⚖️ Democrats demanded body cameras for ICE/CBP agents, judicial warrants for home entries, and unmasked agents for basic accountability.
• ⚠️ Speaker Johnson argued that enforcing the Fourth Amendment with judicial warrants would be too inconvenient, while Senator Ron Johnson claimed agents need masks to avoid doxing, despite no documented cases.

Third Shutdown in Trump's Second Term

• 🗓️ This marks the third government shutdown during Donald Trump's second term, occurring in just over a year.
• 🚨 The shutdown primarily affects agencies like FEMA and TSA, while ICE and CBP continue operating at full capacity due to separate funding from a previous reconciliation package.
• 😡 The speaker highlighted a lack of accountability from the Republican-controlled Congress, which responded to these crises by leaving Washington.