US DHS calls furloughed staff back to work despite shutdown

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

April 10, 2026 11:35 PM EDT Updated 9 hours ago


WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has told all furloughed employees to return to work despite the ​ongoing partial government shutdown, according to a notice sent to employees ‌on Friday. The recall notice said that all currently furloughed employees are to return to duty on their next regularly scheduled workday, which for most will be Monday.

The notice mentioned ​an April 3 memo published by the White House in which President ​Donald Trump signed an emergency order to pay every DHS ⁠employee the equivalent compensation and benefits lost during the partial shutdown of ​the agency.

A Trump administration official separately confirmed that DHS has told all employees ​to return to work and that Trump's directive from last week orders that they be paid. A partial U.S. government shutdown has been ongoing for nearly two months.

Most DHS ​employees are deemed "essential," which means that they are required to work during ​a shutdown. DHS has 270,000 employees. Lawmakers in the U.S. Congress are yet to agree to ‌a ⁠fiscal 2026 funding measure for DHS. Democrats have been critical of Trump's immigration crackdown, especially his use of agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of DHS.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-dhs-calls-furloughed-staff-back-work-despite-shutdown-2026-04-11/

[twodogsbarking]

1. Security? Nope.

[DallasNE]

2. They Are Going To Use "Available Funding"

They don't say from what department. Someone needs to ask them that question. Are they going to throw the money over the wall from the Defense Department? Not likely. Will they take if from Medicaid? That is hitting closer to home. Where is the "available funding" coming from?

[LovelyStuff]

3. Hopefully . . .

From the money they already gave DHS in the "Big Beautiful Bill". Although I believe a lot of that money has been embezzled, misappropriated or whatever word you want to use for "no longer there".

[DallasNE]

4. I Thought The Big Beautiful Bill

Covered all except 3 Departments, including DHS. Later, a bill was passed that covered the remaining departments, except DHS. DHS still hasn't been funded.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. The BBB had nothing to do with the regular appropriations

It's just a "budget framework" that will designate funding for certain activities over "x" amount of years via "reconciliation" (which is supposed to be "budget neutral" and can be passed by a simple majority in both the House and Senate).

That funding has to be allocated from somewhere (which it was for this FY out of that BBB, but again, for specific things), but that didn't cover the regular Departmental FY '26 funding.

There were some individual and "Minibus" appropriations that were passed well before the January 31 deadline for some Departments and what was left EXCEPT DHS, finally got their appropriations in another "Minibus", just before the deadline.

DHS by itself (and its agencies) don't have any appropriations and they are illegally reprogramming money set aside for other things, to pay those staff without using "BA" (Budget Authority) money.

Meanwhile, Mikie is holding the vote hostage to fund ALL of DHS EXCEPT ICE, which passed the Senate unanimously.