ATLANTA — The U.S. Senate voted unanimously overnight to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security.
The deal includes the Transportation Security Administration, but does not include Immigration and Customs Enforcement and part of Customs and Border Protection.
“We can get at least a lot of the government opened up again and then we’ll go from there,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “Obviously, we’ll still have some work ahead of us.”
It now heads to the U.S. House for a vote. They have until Friday night to pass it before Congress goes on a two-week break.
All the latest developments on Channel 2 Action News starting at 4:00 p.m.
The partial government shutdown has jammed airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and left TSA workers without paychecks.
Channel 2’s Darryn Moore reported from the airport Friday for Channel 2 Action News This Morning starting at 4:30 a.m. Hours after the deal was reached, lines were getting long, but moving at a steady pace.
Multiple airports are experiencing greater than 40% callout rates of TSA workers and nearly 500 officers have now quit during the shutdown.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
On Thursday, President Donald Trump said he would sign an emergency order instructing the Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay TSA workers.
If the Senate package is approved by the House and signed it into law, the action Trump announced to pay TSA agents may be temporary or unneeded.
RELATED STORIES
- Security lines fluctuate at Atlanta airport, but passengers doing their best to make flights on time
- President Trump says he’ll sign emergency order to pay TSA agents
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
©2026 Cox Media Group
