The White House has warned that the Department of Homeland Security will soon exhaust its funding to pay tens of thousands of federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration officers and Secret Service agents, if Congress does not act quickly. The funding gap has emerged as a serious legislative crisis, with DHS among the few remaining federal agencies without a long-term appropriations bill.

Speaker Mike Johnson is facing mounting pressure from Senate Republicans and the Trump administration to advance a DHS funding measure through the House. Republican divisions over legislative strategy — including disputes over how to handle unrelated priorities such as FISA reauthorization and the farm bill — have slowed progress and complicated negotiations.

Without a resolution, TSA officers who screen millions of passengers daily at airports across the country, as well as Secret Service agents responsible for protecting the president and other senior officials, could face delayed or missed paychecks. Federal workers in these roles are generally required to continue working during funding lapses, a situation that has drawn criticism from labor groups in past shutdowns.

The White House has urged the House to move swiftly, framing the lapse as an unacceptable risk to national security operations. Senate Republicans have echoed that pressure, calling on Johnson to find a path forward despite the internal disagreements within the House Republican conference.

Lawmakers and administration officials have not publicly announced a specific deadline, but reporting from multiple outlets indicates the funding window is narrowing rapidly. It remains unclear whether leadership will bring a standalone DHS bill to the floor or attempt to attach the funding to a broader legislative package.