Senate Again Fails to Advance DHS Funding Bill as Shutdown Stretches Over a Month

Although about 96 percent of the federal government is funded, DHS has remained partially shut down since Feb. 13.

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on March 19, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

For the fourth time, the Senate failed to move forward with a bill on March 20 to fund the Department of Homeland Security, extending a partial shutdown that has now lasted more than a month.

The latest procedural vote was 47-37 falling short of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster, following similar failed attempts on March 12 and Feb. 24. Despite the broader funding impasse, agencies such as Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) remain funded through 2029 under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.