DHS remains shutdown. When could a vote happen next?

Congress returned from a two-week recess the week of April 13, coming back to Capitol Hill to face lingering questions about the now-monthslong partial government shutdown and funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Legislators left for a pre-scheduled two-week break for Easter and Passover on March 27 in the midst of the partial shutdown that began in mid-February. Congress has struggled to strike a bipartisan deal to fund DHS, divided mainly over how to allocate spending for airport security, disaster relief, coastline safety and various national security measures, including reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Although Congress is back in session, it is unclear when a vote or action could happen to reach a funding decision and end the partial shutdown.

Here's what we know.

Why is the government partially shut down?

The partial shutdown stems from concerns over the DHS's annual budget, which failed to be passed in mid-February.

Democrats and Republicans need to reach an agreement on a spending package to end the funding impasse and fully pay all DHS workers, but haven't been able to do so. The biggest point of contention has been the Democrats' demand for changes to ICE operations in the wake of the killings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minnesota earlier this year.

The partial shutdown meant employees across the United States faced missing paychecks, including Transportation Security Administration workers, who saw hours-long lines at security checkpoints in airports throughout the country. President Donald Trump later signed an order to redirect funds to pay personnel, who began seeing checks in late March. The solution is temporary, however.

Has Congress passed a funding bill?

Multiple moves to pass a budget deal have been made in the wake of the DHS funding lapse, including during the scheduled recess, but to no avail.

The shutdown appeared to have neared its end when Republicans presented Democrats with a three-page amendment on March 23 that would have included "all of the original reforms" to ICE from a bipartisan bill negotiated earlier this year, USA TODAY previously reported. That amendment was rejected, however, as the Democrats demanded more reforms be included, such as a ban on mask-wearing for ICE and Border Patrol agents, as well as requirements for judicial warrants to conduct immigration raids.

Since then, multiple deals and bills have been suggested and rejected by the Senate and the House. House Republicans rejected a unanimous Senate-passed deal on March 25 to fund all of DHS minus immigration enforcement operations.

Then, the House passed its own stopgap funding bill for the agency on March 27 largely along party lines, 213-203. The legislation was already "dead on arrival," without Democratic support, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, declared earlier in the day, meaning it has virtually no chance of becoming law because it doesn't have enough votes to pass in the Senate.

During the scheduled recess on April 2, the Senate and Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, voted unanimously to send a DHS funding bill back to the House for consideration.

The House rejected the legislation, which would have funded all of DHS while shifting funding for ICE and Border Patrol to a separate party-line budget bill. The now-rejected funding extension needed unanimous support to go to President Donald Trump's desk due to the recess.

Both Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson were on board with the Senate's most recent bill proposal after reaching an agreement with Thune that ICE and Border Patrol will get three years' worth of funding in a separate megabill the president wants on his desk by June 1. Still, the situation remains somewhat gridlocked.

More recently, Trump signed a memorandum on April 3 ordering that all U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees receive pay and benefits during the partial government shutdown, including TSA workers, cybersecurity agency professionals and employees of ICE, Border Patrol and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

What's delaying a House vote to reopen DHS?

The most recent holdup appears to largely stem from internal divisions in the House. Criticism of the Senate's most recent proposal by the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative bloc that includes roughly 30 members of the House, could delay the passage of a package.

The Freedom Caucus denounced the most recent compromise for its lack of separate funding for ICE and some Border Patrol operations, writing in an April 1 X post: "If allowing Democrats to surgically remove agencies they don’t like from the rest of the federal discretionary budget becomes the new norm… buckle up!"

This criticism and apparent division could force the House to take a full vote on proposed legislation, rather than quickly approving the Senate's bill unanimously.

When will Congress vote on DHS funding?

It is unclear when a new vote toward ending the partial government shutdown might take place.

The House of Representatives' calendar includes two budget hearings on April 16 about DHS, including one covering Border Patrol, ICE and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and one on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, TSA, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Secret Service and FEMA.

Still, it is unknown when the partial government shutdown and funding gap might end, as a bill has to be voted on and passed by both the House and the Senate.

Contributing: Nicole Fallert, Zachary Schermele; USA TODAY

Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] or on X @katecperez_.