this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2026
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The White House and Senate Democratic leaders continued to trade offers and kept the details of negotiations private, signaling some hope — but no guarantee of an agreement.

Department of Homeland Security is poised to shut down this weekend as Congress remained deadlocked Thursday on a path forward before leaving town for a weeklong holiday break.

The White House and Democratic leaders have continued to trade offers, signaling some hope for an agreement. But it remains unclear which Democratic demands the White House will agree to when it comes to slapping restraints on immigration enforcement after federal agents killed two American citizens in Minnesota.

With Congress out of town, DHS will shut down beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. That means that federal employees at agencies such as FEMA, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard won’t be paid, though most of them will continue showing up for work because their jobs are considered critical.

top 42 comments
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[–] Bustedknuckles@lemmy.world 87 points 1 month ago (2 children)

It sucks that FEMA and CISA are getting starved out while ICE is flush, but hell, maybe no part of the gov should be funded while the pestilence of this 'administration' is perverting nearly every ideal we thought we had

[–] BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 51 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The Coast Guard is the hardest pill to swallow. The TSA mainly harass and profile people and FEMA pretty much only responds to issues in red states these days so good riddance to them.

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 38 points 1 month ago (1 children)

There the problem with turning every agency into partisan bullshit, it suddenly becomes pretty easy to just defund them because they weren't benefiting you anyways.

[–] Zaktor@sopuli.xyz 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

They've been systematically deconstructing all the excuses used by corporate Democrats to justify why they need to keep the system moving even though they totally oppose [insert current controversial spending]. All that stuff wasn't an accident. It was designed that way and the regime just threw it away because they're too dumb to recognize that it was helping them.

[–] arin@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Just impeach Trump and all the treasonous Republicans

[–] santa@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago

Unless they are removed from office it’ll be theatrical.

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago

Is that how one spells the verb form of "guillotine"? Asking for a friend.

[–] monkeyjoe@lemmy.world 34 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Keep it shutdown for forever. What has Homeland Security done besides wasting money on security theatre, failing to stop any actual killers, and kill people who are here?

Fuck the DHS. Not a single member of it is free of guilt.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 16 points 1 month ago (3 children)

The Coast Guard is largely good, and obviously FEMA. But I agree, shut the DHS down and move those functions elsewhere.

[–] monkeyjoe@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Move the Coastguard and FEMA, arrest all of ICE and other federally funded criminal organizations

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] monkeyjoe@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh I know, ICE won't see justice. Neither party wants it.

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago

Maybe the billions that actually do will actually do something about it. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

USCG used to be under the Department of Transportation, and would move to under the Navy during wartime. They got shoved into DHS when that department was created. Move them back to DOT like they used to be…

[–] Fmstrat@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Since early this year [2025], FEMA has denied major disaster requests from at least six Democratic states out of ten submitted, including California for wildfires, Washington for flooding, and Maryland for severe storms that caused millions in damage to communities in the western part of the state. These denials have been appealed by governors like Maryland’s Wes Moore, who described the rejection of nearly $34 million in relief as a “gut punch” to vulnerable residents still rebuilding. Trump has also made explicit threats to withhold aid from blue states unless they comply with unrelated policy demands, such as enacting voter ID laws in California, a move that legal experts argue undermines the impartiality of federal disaster response and erodes principles of federalism.

https://medium.com/@lovefoods_54026/understanding-the-federal-disaster-aid-divide-between-red-and-blue-states-federal-funding-dd6786d0e77e

Still think FEMA?

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago

Yes, they still do good, hence the requests for their aid. The Trump adm. just sucks.

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 31 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Defund?

No no no.

Abolish?

That's a start.

Prosecute.

That's my baseline. Anyone asking for less doesn't have my vote.

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Even if they're running against someone who would further fund and escalate?

You had me until that last sentence.

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 28 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 28 points 1 month ago

America did pretty alright for the 225 years we didn't have a DHS...

[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

First, migrate the shit out of it that should’ve never been in it.

I don’t know why the department in change of natural disaster aid is in the same org as TSA and ICE. That’s so damn silly.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The reasoning, I assume, is that they deal with issues internal to the nation. There's some logic to that, but I think I'm with you that it largely doesn't make sense.

[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It’s some old 9/11 BS.

FEMA responds any disaster, including one caused by terrorism. They got rolled into DHS so one chain of command could coordinate responses to terrorism.

Problem is, 99.9% of their day job responding to non-terrorism disasters.

It’s an org structure designed around an edge case, not the more common needs.

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 month ago

Don't forget to mention that Terrorism™ is, and always has been a psyop fulcrum devoid of fact in lieu of leverage.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I would argue that the coast guard never operates in an area internal to the nation. They obviously operate on the outside edge -- it's in the name.

[–] ZombieMantis@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Internal would include our territorial waters, which is where they operate.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago

Yeah... No. A lot of the coast guard's job is maritime safety. They certify life jackets, ensure vessels are safe, rescue people in danger on the water (including lakes and rivers), and a lot more. They also check port security. Most of their job is internal, even by your definition. Some of it is off the coast, which is still in the territorial waters, so still internal.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago
[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago

Just fucking keep it closed

[–] FiniteBanjo@feddit.online 15 points 1 month ago

I feel like "Hope" isn't the correct word for a DHS deal lol...

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

When your federal government shutting down is a big win.

[–] ZombieMantis@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

Good start, now keep is shut down. Forever.

[–] 5oap10116@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I could totally see the admin pulling off a "terrorist" attack to shift things back in their favor.

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

There will definitely be a new war to pump up ratings.

[–] Sunflier@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago
[–] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Don’t be fooled

[–] andyburke@fedia.io 7 points 1 month ago
[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 7 points 1 month ago

and there was much rejoicing.

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Good. Fuck'em.

[–] 100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 6 points 1 month ago

With Congress out of town, DHS will shut down beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. That means that federal employees at agencies such as FEMA, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard won’t be paid, though most of them will continue showing up for work because their jobs are considered critical.

Wow. I mean "fuck em", but wow. Working for free for the government is like the reverse "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude"

[–] VaalaVasaVarde@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 month ago

Until a bunch of democrats vote to keep DHS unchanged at the last moment because it would be cruel to the ICE agents.

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Knock em out john