Weekly Recap: Senate Ends DHS Shutdown (Mostly), Mullin Confirmed, SAVE Act Stalls — March 23–27, 2026

At a little after 2 a.m. on Friday, March 27, the United States Senate passed a partial Department of Homeland Security funding bill by unanimous consent — ending 41 days of a partial government shutdown that had stranded tens of thousands of federal workers without pay, triggered mass TSA resignations, and caused cascading delays at airports across the country. The agreement funds most of DHS but conspicuously excludes Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, reflecting weeks of Democratic demands and a final compromise that now faces uncertain prospects in the House. That was just the headline. This was a consequential week in Congress by any measure — a cabinet confirmation, a stalled election-reform bill, and a productive House floor schedule that moved everything on its docket.

The DHS Shutdown Ends — Mostly

The partial DHS shutdown that began February 14, 2026, after a continuing resolution expired without a full-year appropriation in place, came to an end in the early hours of Friday morning. The Senate voted by unanimous consent to pass a funding bill that covers the Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, FEMA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and border security at ports of entry through the end of fiscal year 2026.

What it does not cover: ICE and the Border Patrol. That exclusion was the price of Democratic support — and the reason an agreement took 41 days to reach. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) framed the outcome in direct terms after the vote: "In the wake of the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Senate Democrats were clear: no blank check for a lawless ICE and border patrol. This long overdue agreement funds TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA, CISA, strengthens security at the border in the ports of entry, and keeps Americans safe."

The human toll of the impasse had been mounting for weeks. More than 500 TSA agents quit during the shutdown rather than work without pay. Airport security lines stretched to hours-long waits at major hubs. An estimated 60,000 to 100,000 DHS employees across various divisions had been working without compensation. President Trump, on March 26, announced plans to issue an executive order directing TSA pay — a move that became at least partly moot when the Senate deal cleared before morning. ICE and CBP retain operational funding from the prior year's reconciliation bill and its multiyear appropriations, meaning the agency's core functions continue even without this new legislation.

The bill now heads to the House, where its path is genuinely uncertain. Some House conservatives have objected to any DHS funding arrangement that does not include ICE. Speaker Johnson had not committed to a floor strategy as of Friday morning — the House rules adopted at the start of the 119th Congress require a multi-step process to bring Senate-passed legislation to the floor quickly.

Mullin Confirmed as DHS Secretary: 54–45

On Monday, March 23, the Senate confirmed Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) as the 9th Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem. The final confirmation vote was 54–45, largely along party lines, with two notable exceptions in each direction.

The lone Republican NO: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who cited concerns about executive power and the continued expansion of the national security state. Two Democrats crossed the aisle to vote YES: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM). The vote breakdown largely mirrored the procedural cloture vote held Sunday, March 22, which passed 54–37.

Mullin, 48, was sworn in by President Trump in the Oval Office on March 24. He inherits a department in institutional turmoil — mid-shutdown, short-staffed, and at the center of the country's most contentious policy debates. During his confirmation hearing, Mullin called on senators to fund DHS as quickly as possible, a request that took four more days to partially fulfill.

SAVE America Act: All Debate, No Deal

Senate debate on the SAVE America Act (S.1383) — formally the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — continued for the fourth consecutive week, with Republicans attempting to advance the voter identification and election reform bill despite falling short of the 60 votes needed to end debate.

The week's signature attempt came Thursday, March 26, when Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) offered Amendment #4732, which would add strict photo ID requirements to the bill. The Senate voted 53–47 on the motion to invoke cloture on the Husted amendment — seven votes short of the 60 needed to advance. Every Republican voted yes; every Democrat voted no. The bill requires a supermajority precisely because no Democrat has signaled willingness to break the filibuster on this legislation.

Senate Minority Leader Schumer called the Husted amendment "the single strictest voter ID law in America — stricter than Texas, stricter than Florida, stricter than any state in the country." Republicans have employed a "talking filibuster" strategy, hoping to exhaust the opposition and eventually peel off seven Democratic votes. As of this writing, no Democratic senator has indicated they will cross over on any version of the bill. With the Senate now also consumed by the DHS funding aftermath, SAVE Act floor time may become more compressed in the coming week.

House Activity: A Productive Week

The House had a notably efficient week by recent standards. GovTrack reported that all bills listed on the House's weekly schedule for March 23–27 passed — including several by voice vote — the first time in months the chamber cleared its entire floor calendar.

The most consequential House vote of the week came on March 26, when members passed H.R. 8029, the Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act, 218–206 (Roll Call No. 104). The bill is the third version of DHS appropriations the House has passed since the shutdown began — the previous two versions stalled in the Senate. The rule allowing floor consideration (H.Res. 1131) cleared the House the previous day, 214–210, a razor-thin four-vote margin.

Earlier in the week, on March 24, the House passed H.R. 6422, the American Water Stewardship Act, by a lopsided 378–32 margin (Roll Call No. 97). The bill reauthorizes Environmental Protection Agency geographic programs under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and drew strong bipartisan support — a contrast to the party-line battles dominating most of the chamber's agenda this year.

Notable: Cherfilus-McCormick Ethics Hearing

On March 26, the House Ethics Committee held an adjudicatory hearing in the case of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) concerning alleged financial fraud violations outlined in the Statement of Alleged Violations filed in January. The committee found she had violated nearly all of the alleged items. A formal recommendation on disciplinary action — which could include censure, fines, or an expulsion referral to the full House — is expected when Congress returns from the April recess. Democratic House leaders have largely stepped back from publicly commenting on the case as it heads toward a possible expulsion vote, which would require a two-thirds majority.

The Week in Numbers