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Christmas Vacation and Congress: ‘We’re all in misery’ amid the ongoing DHS shutdown
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If you thought the Congressional appropriations process couldn’t get any worse, I present you with 2026. And perhaps beyond.
The Department of Homeland Security remains shut down, running on pocket lint, nickels lost between the couch cushions and faded S&H Green Stamps (look ‘em up, kids). Congress hasn’t funded DHS for two months. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., torqued himself into a political pretzel – opposing, then supporting, then not acting on – a Senate-approved package to fund most of DHS.
As we always say, it’s about the math, and when it comes to DHS money, it appears that lawmakers have locked a box to which they lack the combination. There is apparently no sequence of votes in the House and Senate which can crack the DHS safe as a traditional, standalone appropriations bill.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHY TRUMP MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FORCE CONGRESS BACK OVER THE DHS SHUTDOWN
The U.S. capitol building in Washington, D.C., (left); An Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Officer arrives at a scene (right). (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images (left); Reuters (right))
Now, Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump are turning to one of the few methods which might work to fund DHS – something called budget reconciliation.
The Congressional budget reconciliation process is not customarily used for appropriations bills – although lawmakers can plug the measure with money to spend on federal programs. However, reconciliation is inoculated from filibusters. Thus, Republicans don’t need 60 votes. They can – ostensibly – pass a DHS bill on its own without help from Democrats if they hold their narrow coalitions together in both the House and Senate.
Congressional Republicans intend to stuff this reconciliation package with only money for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. Nothing for disaster aid. Nothing for farmers. Nothing about the SAVE America Act. The president agrees. The goal is to finish this by June 1 – months after the latest DHS funding lapse.
But it’s more complicated than that.
GOP INFIGHTING REPLACES CLASH WITH DEMS, DERAILS PATH TO END HISTORIC DHS SHUTDOWN
The House and Senate must take a number of steps to approve a shell of a budget resolution in order to have the filibuster-proof reconciliation tool available to them. Republicans undertook a similar endeavor last winter and spring. It was absolutely harrowing and consumed months before finally approving the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, via reconciliation. Republicans don’t have that kind of time now. Then again, DHS has either been unfunded or held together by interim spending bills since last October.
We haven’t even mentioned how Trump is using a somewhat dubious authority to pay TSA workers and others from other funds – without Congressional approval.
Travelers experienced extensive wait times Sunday, March 22, 2026, at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (left, middle) and Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (right) due to the partial government shutdown. (WVUE)
That leaves some to question why the administration didn’t do this to start with. But the bigger issue is an alarming pattern of Congress ceding its most precious prerogative – the power of the purse – to the executive branch. That’s to say nothing as to whether Trump’s gambit to pay workers is even Constitutional. And, it establishes a precedent which may be hard to ignore during other funding impasses.
However, here’s the bigger problem: the Congressional paralysis to pass appropriations bills on a timely basis. That’s been an issue for years now.
Historically, Congress has missed the Oct. 1 fiscal deadline, relying on «Continuing Resolutions» (CR’s) which simply renew all funding on a temporary basis. Or, lawmakers cobble together a set of the 12 annual spending bills in a «minibus» appropriations package. Lawmakers who might oppose an individual bill are willing to support a group of bills – because there’s something in there which they like or support.
But turning to reconciliation as a way out of the appropriations box canyon is also another precedent which likely agitates Congressional appropriators. Sure. They’ve done that before. And in this instance, it might finally get DHS funded. But what does this mean for the future?
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that congressional Democrats got «zero» reforms in the DHS funding deal. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Which brings us to Oct. 1, 2026. That’s when the federal government pivots from Fiscal Year 2026 to start Fiscal Year 2027.
Congress has struggled to fund the federal government since early 2025, when it began work on appropriations bills for this year. The FY ’26 funding crisis – which spawned the record-breaking, 43-day, government-wide shutdown in the fall, another partial government shutdown last winter and the current DHS stalemate – has been an issue since lawmakers were working on bills for this cycle around this time LAST spring. So how pray tell is Congress going to avoid a shutdown THIS autumn for FY ’27?
In fact, few are even speaking about that possible peril – because no one can wrap their heads around the present appropriations saga. And it’s possible that this fall’s problems could be worse than last fall’s impasse. The reason? The midterm elections hit in November. It’s doubtful that either side will be willing to make much of a deal right before voters head to the polls.
The scenarios are frightening to fathom, so people are just kind of ignoring them.
SEE IT: LAWMAKERS CAUGHT ON VACATION AMID RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN WHILE DHS WORKERS GO UNPAID
We have entered a new period of semi-perpetual funding standoffs – exacerbated by mistrust between the sides, narrow Congressional margins in both the House and Senate, parliamentary mathematical equations which don’t balance and an unwillingness by Trump to broker deals or even negotiate with Democrats.
Yes. They have options to cover DHS into next year, but it’s the other 11 spending bills which could be problematic.
Imagine trying to pass a defense spending bill which has a price tag 44% higher than the one last year? Or tacks a bunch of money on for the war in Iran?
Where’s the vote combination to approve a CR, let alone an individual bill? Will Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., be willing to help Republicans hit the 60 vote threshold to fund things? Especially if he sees the possibility of emerging again as Majority Leader? Probably not.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats aren’t backing down from their list of DHS demands as the partial government shutdown rages on. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
And let’s say Democrats win the House, Senate or both in the fall? Do you really think these spending standoffs get better over the final two years of Trump’s term?
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Back to Chevy Chase and Clark Griswold. There’s a second part to that iconic quotation from Christmas Vacation: «We’re at the threshold of hell!» he declares.
Pretty funny, but not if you’re trying to keep the government open after the adventures of the past year. This is not hilarious to millions of federal workers who suffer from paycheck PTSD. Another round of spending mayhem could only erode further trust between federal workers and their employers. It will damage morale – which is already subterranean. That’s to say nothing of courting people to work for the government.
Yes. Things can get a lot worse. The political schisms are deep and the vote matrices to pass the bills simply don’t exist.
It may be spring, but the Christmas Vacation movie provides insight into where we stand with the Congressional appropriations bills: «It’s Christmas and we’re all in misery,» declares Ellen Griswold, played by Beverly D’Angelo.
Yeah. And wait to see what Congress has in store for THIS Christmas.
Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
politics, congress, government shutdown, homeland security
INTERNACIONAL
El papa León XIV seguirá los pasos de San Agustín en el segundo día de su visita a Argelia
El Papa León XIV viajó el martes a la ciudad argelina de Annaba para seguir los pasos del teólogo cristiano San Agustín, en el segundo día de un viaje histórico empañado por una disputa con el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump.
El lunes, el pontífice estadounidense se convirtió en el primer papa en visitar Argelia, la parada inaugural de una gira por cuatro países africanos, aunque el primer día estuvo casi eclipsado por duras críticas de Trump.
Las recientes exhortaciones del papa, de 70 años, a la paz en Oriente Medio, donde la guerra entre Estados Unidos e Israel contra Irán ha envuelto gran parte de la región, han provocado la ira de Trump.
Antes del viaje de León XIV, el presidente estadounidense le acusó de “jugar con un país (Irán) que quiere un arma nuclear” y dijo que “no era un gran fan” del pontífice.
El lunes, Trump redobló la crítica tras una protesta, diciendo que “no tenía nada de lo que disculparse” y que el papa estaba “equivocado”.
A bordo del avión papal rumbo a Argel, León dijo a los periodistas: “El Evangelio dice… Benditos sean los pacificadores”.
“No tengo miedo, ni a la administración Trump, ni a hablar en voz alta sobre el mensaje del Evangelio.”
Durante la noche, el vicepresidente estadounidense JD Vance instó al Vaticano a “ceñirse a cuestiones de moralidad” en medio de la creciente disputa, “y dejar que el presidente de Estados Unidos se limite a dictar la política pública estadounidense”.
Obispos italianos y estadounidenses han expresado su apoyo al papa, al igual que la primera ministra italiana Giorgia Meloni, conocida por estar cercana a Trump, quien calificó las declaraciones del presidente estadounidense de “inaceptables”.
‘Hijo’ de Agustín
Dejando la controversia a un lado, en el noreste de Annaba —antiguamente la antigua ciudad romana de Hipona— el papa visitará vestigios del pasado de la ciudad y un centro de recepción gestionado por monjas católicas para ancianos empobrecidos, en su mayoría musulmanes.
La ciudad fue en su día el hogar de Agustín, cuya autobiografía “Confesiones” es una obra fundamental dentro de la tradición cristiana.
Leo también celebrará misa en la Basílica de San Agustín en la cima de la colina en presencia de clérigos de toda África.
El pontífice se ha referido anteriormente a sí mismo como “hijo” del santo y pertenece a la orden agustina.
En su primer discurso en Argel el lunes, Leo rindió homenaje a las víctimas de la guerra de independencia del país de Francia de 1954-1962 y pidió “perdón”.
Sus declaraciones se produjeron en medio de crecientes tensiones entre Argelia y Francia, y siguieron a una reunión hace días con el presidente francés Emmanuel Macron en el Vaticano.
El papa también instó a los líderes argelinos a “no temer” una mayor participación pública en la vida política, llamando a una “sociedad civil vibrante, dinámica y libre”.
Desde las protestas prodemocráticas de Hirak en 2019, que exigían reformas profundas y mayor transparencia, grupos de derechos humanos han informado de una reducción de las libertades y un mayor control sobre el espacio público.
“Las autoridades están llamadas no a dominar, sino a servir al pueblo y fomentar su desarrollo”, dijo León.
El papa tiene previsto salir de Argelia el miércoles rumbo a Camerún, antes de viajar a Angola y Guinea Ecuatorial.
(con información de AFP)
International Relations,Religion,Africa,Diplomacy / Foreign Policy,Religion / Belief
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Macron under fire over Iran, Hezbollah policy as Trump admin hosts Israel-Lebanon talks
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France’s President Emmanuel Macron is facing renewed criticism for his lack of support for President Donald Trump’s war against Iran and demands to include Lebanon in the current ceasefire as historic talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to begin Tuesday.
The historic meeting brokered by President Trump between Lebanon, a former French mandate, and Israel will take place at the ambassador level as hopes for an agreement evolve — most noticeably without French involvement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to host both nations’ ambassadors.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel’s government requested that France be excluded from the talks. An Israeli official told the paper that «France’s conduct over the past year – including initiatives aimed at limiting Israel’s ability to fight in Iran, and a complete lack of willingness to take concrete steps to help Lebanon disarm Hezbollah – has led Israel to view France as an unfair mediator.»
IRAN’S TERROR PROXIES FROM IRAQ-TO-LEBANON SAY READY TO RESPOND TO US-ISRAEL ATTACKS
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with President Trump and other world leaders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
On Monday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Monday called on the Lebanese government to cancel the Tuesday meeting in Washington, while describing the talks as pointless. In a televised speech, Qassem said the armed group will continue to confront Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Hezbollah violated a ceasefire to enter the war on its patron, Iran’s side, in March when it launched rockets into Israel after the U.S.-Israel joint attack on the Islamic Republic began, still Macron has demanded Israel stop attacking Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure in Lebanon.
Israeli Brig. General (Res.) Yosef Kuperwasser told Fox News Digital that Macron was «working against the best interests of the Lebanese state and government. This is a very problematic direction.» He accused Macron of «taking the side of Hezbollah and normalizing Hezbollah because he is focused on «narrow interests.»
IRAN THREATENS TO END CEASEFIRE OVER HEZBOLLAH’S EXCLUSION FROM TRUCE DEAL
Hezbollah al-Mahdi scouts parade with big portraits of Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Khomeini, foreground, and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, background, during an event for Jerusalem day or Al-Quds day, in the southern town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. The last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is observed in many Muslim countries as Al-Quds day, as a way of expressing support to the Palestinians and emphasizing the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo)
The former head of research for the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate, Kuperwasser, added that the «Americans want us to engage with the Lebanese along with the military [in Lebanon]. Our expectations are very similar. We want to see Lebanon do something about Hezbollah, something real, not just issue statements and pledges. We believe we have helped them by weakening Hezbollah militarily since they decided to launch missiles on March 2. If there is a breakthrough, Lebanon has a lot to gain,» but said it has to «disarm Hezbollah.»
Macron has faced accusations over the years that he has normalized Hezbollah. His government, in contrast to Germany, the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Austria and many other Western and non-Westen countries, refuses to designate Hezbollah’s entire organization a terrorist entity. France has classified Hezbollah’s «military wing» a terrorist organization but declined to ban its «political wing.» Hezbollah considers itself a unified movement without branches.
The French politician François-Xavier Bellamy, who is a member of the European Parliament for the Republicans Party, said last week on French television that «France must stop normalizing Hezbollah.» Macron sparked outrage in 2020 when he reportedly held a private conversation with a top elected Hezbollah official, according to the Paris-based daily Le Figaro.
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (Emilio Morenatti/AP)
Edy Cohen, an Israeli security expert on Hezbollah, who was born in Lebanon, told Fox News Digital, «France is forced not to come out against Hezbollah in order to legitimize its involvement in Lebanon.»
A French diplomat told the Times of Israel that «what we are hoping for is not a ticket to the meeting, but that Israel stops its offensive on Lebanon.»
When asked if France would pressure Lebanon to recognize Israel as a state, Pascal Confavreux, a spokesman for France’s Foreign Ministry, told «Fox News Sunday» that, «Iran has to stop terrorizing Israel through Hezbollah because Hezbollah chose to bring Lebanon into a war which is not Lebanon’s war… Lebanon has to be included in the ceasefire, something that we are pushing diplomatically,» He continued that we are in favor of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.
It is not known if France asked for a seat at the talks. Fox News Digital sent multiple press queries to France’s embassies in Washington D.C. and Tel Aviv.
IDF UNCOVERS HEZBOLLAH WEAPONS STASH INSIDE HOSPITAL IN LEBANON
Hezbollah launches long-range missiles from Lebanon into northern Israel within 48 hours of strikes on Iran, escalating the widening conflict amid Operation Epic Fury. (Hadi Mizban/AP)
On Saturday, Macron again pushed his desire for a ceasefire and wrote on X that he had discussions with Iran’s President Massoud Pezeshkian on Saturday: «I stressed the importance of full respect for the ceasefire, including in Lebanon. France extends its full support to the actions of the Lebanese authorities, who alone are legitimate to exercise the sovereignty of the State and decide the destiny of Lebanon.»
Walid Phares, an expert on Lebanon and the region, told Fox News Digital that while the talks are important, problems exist. «It is at ambassadors’ level, which means it is not destined to reach a top level of decision-making.»
He added, «Strangely, the Lebanese president and prime minister declined to invite the Lebanese foreign minister to the Washington talks, provoking a representation by Israel, also at ambassadorial level, showing that Hezbollah still has a strong influence on the Lebanese government. The militia is being rejected by the population on the ground and fears a meeting in D.C. would ostracize Hezbollah further.»
Iran rebuilds Hezbollah ties as Trump gives 10-15 day deadline. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto)
Sethrida Geagea, a member of parliament from the Lebanese Forces party, posted on X ahead of the Israel-Lebanon talks an open letter to Nabih Berri, the powerful speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and leader of the Shiite Amal Movement. She issued indirect criticism of Hezbollah and its terrorist army within the state. Geagea appealed to Berri to unify the Lebanese to be «protected by a single army.»
Without naming Hezbollah, her letter stated that young Shiites have been plunged into war that has nothing to do with them and the conflict is really about an Iranian decision to retaliate for the joint U.S.-Israel war that assassinated the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, on February 28.
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The State Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital press query.
Reuters contributed to this report.
france, donald trump, lebanon, war with iran, emmanuel macron, israel
INTERNACIONAL
Inside teachers’ union May Day ‘dress rehearsal’ critics warn will ‘groom’ students into Dem ‘foot soldiers’
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A recent webinar hosted by some of the top teachers’ unions in the United States that pushed a curriculum focused on the upcoming May Day protests is prompting education experts and watchdogs to sound the alarm about alleged political indoctrination inside classrooms.
The Chicago Teachers’ Union and the National Education Association collaborated with the Zinn Education Project on an April 2nd seminar referred to as a «curriculum build» to «bring «social justice into the classroom» ahead of May Day, the traditional May 1st holiday that has long been embraced by communist and socialist movements as a day of mass political action.
«There’s probably gonna be a lot worse things that Trump does, and so May Day is a dress rehearsal for maybe there’s a random day in, you know, June that we all are, like, no work, no school, no shopping, because of something Pete just did, right?» Dave Stieber, a history teacher in Chicago Public Schools, said during the presentation.
«So this is a continuation and a buildup of that.»
500 GROUPS WITH $3B IN REVENUES ARE BEHIND THE #NOKINGS PROTESTS AND COMMUNIST CALL FOR ‘REVOLUTION’
Students across the U.S. protested immigration enforcement, causing some districts to close for the day in light of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Student coalitions held a «National Shutdown» on Jan. 30 and continued to protest through Feb. 3. (Getty Images)
The webinar also included guidance on how educators could bring activism into the classroom, including with very young students, with speakers who encouraged lessons centered on activism for children as young as three, presenting such engagement as a way to build early awareness and participation.
«I did want to say I really encourage teachers of young children not to feel like this is stuff that’s way beyond their students, not to be afraid of raising up social justice issues, including workers’ rights, anti-racism, pro LGBT, LGBTQIA plus issues, immigration and immigrants rights,» Kirstin Roberts, a pre-school teacher in Chicago Public Schools, says in the seminar.
The North American Values Institute (NAVI), who first posted the seminar online, argues that the unions are attempting to «groom» students to push social justice platforms in protests across the United States including on May Day.
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«The webinar demonstrates clearly that our teacher unions view students as foot soldiers in their political and ideological battles and the classroom as an appropriate venue to wage their war,» Mika Hackner, director of research at NAVI, told Fox News Digital.
During the seminar, one of the lessons on «May Day curriculum building» focuses on making the upcoming protest look less «scary» to children.
«In this lesson, we really want to introduce the idea that there’s going to be marches and protests on Mayday,» Roberts says.
LEFT-WING TOOLKIT FROM COLLEGE PROFESSORS GROUP URGES STUDENTS TO ‘CREATE A CRISIS’ OVER ICE
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, are pictured together. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for March For Our Lives)
«Sometimes those are made to look really scary on the news and so we, or in social media, and so we want to share images with our children of protests that lifts up the beauty and the humanity of the people involved.»
The Chicago Teachers’ Union, which has been pushing for schools to be closed on May Day, has long faced criticism for pushing far-left political agenda items in the classroom and encouraging teachers to take to the streets in opposition to the Trump administration.
Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported that CTU appears poised to spend a substantial amount of money on «political activities» to the tune of $3.1 million dollars.
In January, CTU members filmed themselves protesting federal immigration enforcement and anti-DEI measures at a local Target, sparking criticism both online and from experts.
«It’s very clear that teachers unions seek to destroy our country by turning our students against it,» Teacher Freedom Alliance CEO Ryan Walters told Fox News Digital.
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«The Chicago Teachers Union is one of the worst. The fact that they are targeting students as young as 3 years old with this anti-American propaganda should be criminal. The teachers unions will continue to use students as Marxist pawns until we have driven them out of our schools.»
The NEA has found itself facing criticism over political activism in recent months as well which Fox News Digital has extensively reported on, including federal labor filings in January that showed the nation’s largest teacher’s union funneling millions to far-left activist groups, ballot initiatives and social justice organizations.
«They don’t care about the students, they care about pushing these leftist, liberal Democrat people [politicians] so that they can get more money and just fund all these stupid initiatives,» an NEA whistleblower told Fox News Digital in January.
Fox News Digital reached out to the NEA, CTU, Chicago Public Schools, and Zinn Project for comment.
curriculum, education, labor unions, controversies education, teachers
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