DHS Shutdown Hits 43rd Day as GOP Calls to Replace Thune

A partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security entered its 43rd day on Sunday as House Republicans rejected a Senate funding bill, prompting calls from within the party to replace Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The impasse, centered in Washington, D.C., has left tens of thousands of federal workers without pay and caused widespread disruptions at airports nationwide.

The Senate unanimously approved the bipartisan measure in the early hours of Friday morning, around 2:25 a.m., providing funding for most DHS operations through September 30 while excluding new appropriations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Those agencies have continued operating on previously allocated funds. The bill, negotiated by Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, aimed to resolve the standoff but omitted Democratic demands for judicial warrants in immigration enforcement and bans on agents' face coverings. Democrats viewed the exclusions as a concession, though the measure failed to advance after House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed it as a "joke" and led a 213-203 vote late Friday for a competing eight-week funding...