DHS shutdown: Congressional dysfunction imperils pay for TSA, Secret Service

House Rules Committee Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) delivers remarks alongside Ranking Member Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) during a Rules Committee Hearing on legislation to end the partial government shutdown, at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 2, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for more than 70 days and with Congress seemingly at an impasse on a series of contentious topics, and there's no quick end to the funding lapse on the horizon. As the House spun its wheels on Tuesday, some turned to a higher power. "I have a copy of the serenity prayer here," said House Rules Committee Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx , R-N.C., kicking off a Tuesday afternoon hearing. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, the wisdom to know the differences." The congressional to-do list is long. In addition to DHS funding, it includes thorny legislation like the reauthorization of a controversial foreign surveillance program that expires at the end of April, a bill that sets agricultural and food policies and a budget measure on Republican immigration priorities that some hope will pave the way to ending the partial government shutdown.