DHS Shutdown Day 65: Ordered Back With No Appropriation

Last Updated: May 20, 2026

On April 10, 2026, DHS Chief Human Capital Officer La'Toya Prieur issued a directive: all furloughed employees must report to work on their next regularly scheduled duty day. Failure to report "may result in administrative or disciplinary action."

The catch: the DHS partial shutdown is still going. No congressional appropriation has been enacted. The funding comes from redirected reconciliation money that was never meant for this purpose. The legal basis has not been tested in court or reviewed by GAO. And the longest shutdown in U.S. history just passed Day 65 with no resolution in sight.

Key Takeaways

• DHS ordered all furloughed employees back to work on April 10, 2026, despite no congressional appropriation
• The shutdown began February 14, 2026 and is now past Day 65, the longest in U.S. history
• Back pay for Feb 14 through Apr 4 has been deposited. Ongoing pay comes from $10B in redirected reconciliation funds
• TSP contributions were NOT made up for the unpaid weeks. Only FEHB premiums caught up.
• The legal basis is contested: administration cites 31 U.S.C. § 1301(a), budget experts call it unprecedented
• Nearly 500 TSA officers quit during the shutdown. 4,000+ FEMA staff went unpaid for weeks.

The three orders that got you here

Three separate actions built on each other. Understanding the sequence matters because each one expanded the scope.

March 27: Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing TSA employees specifically to resume pay, effective approximately March 30. This was narrow, covering only TSA's 61,000 employees after the airport crisis peaked with 55% callout rates at Houston Hobby and 500+ officer resignations.

April 3: Trump signed the "Liberating DHS" memorandum. This expanded pay to all DHS employees and authorized back pay from February 14 through April 4. The funding source: approximately $10 billion in DHS-related appropriations from the One Big Beautiful Bill reconciliation act signed July 4, 2025.

April 10: CHCO La'Toya Prieur issued the operational return-to-work notice. This is the directive that actually ordered bodies back to offices and workstations. The notice warned of disciplinary consequences for not reporting.

Who's affected and who's paying

Component	During Shutdown	Pay Source
TSA (~61,000)	95% worked throughout, unpaid until March 30	March 27 EO, back pay flowing
FEMA	Most furloughed, grants halted Feb 22	April 10 recall, "exempt status" memo
CBP uniformed	Worked throughout, deemed essential	$75B enforcement fund (reconciliation)
CBP civilians (~9,000)	Worked unpaid	April 3 EO + April 10 recall
ICE officers	Worked throughout	$75B enforcement fund
ICE civilians	Some furloughed	April 10 recall
USCIS	Mostly unaffected (fee-funded at $7.5B/yr)	Application fees, not appropriations
Secret Service agents	Worked throughout	Administration budget maneuvers
Coast Guard civilians	Unpaid	April 3/10 orders
CISA	Partially furloughed	April 10 recall, backlogs growing

The enforcement agencies (ICE, CBP officers) were shielded by the $75B enforcement-specific appropriation in the reconciliation bill. The political dispute over ICE/CBP policy is exactly why the shutdown happened and why it persisted. The agencies at the center of the fight were the ones least affected by it.

Is this legal?

The honest answer: nobody knows yet.

The administration's theory rests on 31 U.S.C. § 1301(a), the "purpose statute." They argue the $10 billion in DHS reconciliation funds has a "reasonable and logical nexus" to all DHS operations, including paying employees whose work was not specifically funded by that appropriation.

The Antideficiency Act (31 U.S.C. § 1341) says agencies cannot obligate or spend funds without a valid congressional appropriation for the specific purpose. No FY2026 DHS appropriation through regular order has passed.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said the administration "provided no real clarity about what they're doing publicly." GAO has not issued a finding. No court has ruled on the validity of this approach.

For you as an employee, the practical reality is straightforward: the back pay arrived. The paychecks are coming. But the legal foundation is built on an interpretation that has not been tested and could be challenged at any time.

What you're losing that nobody talks about

Your back pay arrived. But two things did not come with it.

TSP contributions: Employer matching and your own contributions were not made for the weeks you were unpaid. Those weeks are a gap in your TSP accumulation. If you were maxing out at $24,500/year, several weeks of missed contributions could cost you $1,500 to $2,500 in lost contributions plus whatever those dollars would have earned in your chosen funds. That money is gone.

FEHB premiums: These DID catch up, but as a lump-sum deduction from your back pay. If you were unpaid for 8 weeks, that is 8 biweekly FEHB premiums deducted at once. For a family plan, that could be $2,000 to $3,000 taken from a single paycheck.

Where Congress stands

The House and Senate are at an impasse.

• March 27: Senate passed a bipartisan compromise (H.R. 7147) that funds all DHS agencies except ICE and CBP
• Same day: House rejected the Senate version and passed its own two-month CR for all of DHS (213-20 vote)
• Core dispute: Democrats will not fund ICE/CBP without policy reforms on immigration enforcement. Republicans want full funding for all DHS including enforcement.
• April status: Neither chamber has moved. The impasse persists.

The administration has effectively bypassed Congress by using reconciliation funds to pay employees during the lapse. Whether Congress views this as a temporary bridge or a power grab will shape the next appropriations fight.

How long the money lasts

This is the question nobody in the administration has answered publicly.

The $10 billion in DHS reconciliation funds is being drawn down to pay approximately 240,000 DHS civilian employees. TSA alone costs an estimated $140 million per week in payroll. Across all DHS components, the weekly burn rate is likely $400 to $500 million.

At that rate, $10 billion lasts approximately 20 to 25 weeks from the start of redirected payments (late March 2026), running out sometime between August and September 2026. If the shutdown is not resolved by then, the pay disruption returns.

NARFE's April 14 analysis flagged this explicitly: employees are receiving paychecks "for now," and the administration itself acknowledged that "any additional compensation owed to employees would be paid once funding is restored by Congress."

What to do right now

Report to work. The disciplinary warning in the April 10 memo is real regardless of the legal questions. If you refuse to report without approved leave, you risk adverse action.

Check your TSP. Log into tsp.gov and verify whether contributions resumed with your most recent paycheck. If you were unpaid for 6+ weeks, consider whether you can increase your contribution rate for the remainder of the year to make up the gap.

Document everything. Keep copies of every pay stub, LES, and communication from your agency about the shutdown. If the legal basis is later invalidated, documentation will matter for any back-pay disputes or MSPB actions.

If you're considering leaving federal service, the Severance Pay Calculator estimates your RIF payout. The FERS Retirement Calculator models your pension under different separation dates.

Who ordered the return to work, and the FEMA cuts

The April 10 directive came from La'Toya Prieur in her role as DHS Chief Human Capital Officer. She also holds a second concurrent title: CHCO for FEMA. She signed the order sending 240,000 DHS employees back to their desks while also serving as the top HR official for the component that took the hardest hit on staffing.

That dual role came up in a separate federal lawsuit. AFGE sued over the mass non-renewal of FEMA's CORE workforce, the Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery, a pool of trained disaster-response workers let go without renewal in early 2026. A federal judge ordered depositions from senior DHS and FEMA officials. La'Toya Prieur was deposed as part of that proceeding.

In her deposition, she confirmed that DHS leadership, not FEMA leadership, directed the CORE non-renewals. A separate deposition from FEMA senior leadership revealed that DHS had ordered FEMA to develop plans to cut 50% of its workforce, and that FEMA drew up those plans without a strategy for maintaining disaster-response capacity. GovExec reported on the deposition records in April 2026. Federal News Network had reported earlier that Secretary Noem and other top DHS officials had been ordered to testify.

The back-to-work order and the FEMA cuts run through the same office. For FEMA CORE employees whose contracts were not renewed, the deposition testimony is now part of the public court record.

If you are a former FEMA CORE employee weighing your options, the Severance Pay Calculator estimates your separation payout based on your grade, step, and years of service. The RIF Survival Guide covers your appeal rights and MSPB options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is La'Toya Prieur at DHS?

La'Toya Prieur is the DHS Chief Human Capital Officer, the top HR official for all 240,000 DHS employees. She signed the April 10, 2026 directive ordering furloughed employees back to work during the ongoing shutdown. She also holds the CHCO title at FEMA and was deposed in the AFGE lawsuit over FEMA CORE non-renewals. In that deposition, she confirmed that DHS leadership, not FEMA leadership, ordered the non-renewals. Before DHS, she was Deputy Executive Director of Human Resources Operations at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Her bio is on the FEMA.gov leadership page.

Is the DHS shutdown still going?

Yes. The DHS partial shutdown began February 14, 2026, and is now past Day 65. No congressional appropriation has been enacted. This is the longest shutdown of any kind in U.S. history.

Are DHS employees being paid right now?

Yes, for now. Back pay from February 14 through April 4 has been deposited. Ongoing pay flows from redirected reconciliation funds ($10B). When those funds run out, potentially between August and September 2026, the same disruption could recur.

What happens if I refuse to report?

The April 10 CHCO memo stated that failure to report "may result in administrative or disciplinary action." No employee has been formally disciplined as of mid-April 2026, but the warning is on the record.

Is this legal under the Antideficiency Act?

The administration says yes, citing a "reasonable and logical nexus" between reconciliation funds and DHS operations. Independent experts call this unprecedented. GAO has not ruled. No court has weighed in.

Does this affect my TSP contributions?

Yes. TSP contributions for the unpaid weeks are NOT being made up retroactively. Only FEHB premiums catch up. Consider increasing your contribution rate for the rest of 2026 to partially close the gap.

Related Resources

• Severance Pay Calculator: Estimate your separation payout
• FERS Retirement Calculator: Model your pension under different scenarios
• DHS Shutdown Guide 2026: Full shutdown coverage and Day-by-Day updates
• TSA Privatization and Budget Cuts: What the FY2027 budget means for TSA employees
• $165.6 Billion: The Real Cost of Federal Workforce Cuts: Economy-wide impact
• State of the Federal Workforce 2026: 50+ workforce statistics
• RIF Survival Guide 2026: Your rights during a Reduction in Force

Sources

• Federal News Network: DHS calling furloughed staff back despite shutdown
• Federal News Network: Noem, top DHS officials to be deposed in FEMA staffing cut lawsuit
• CBS News: DHS orders thousands back
• GovExec: FEMA came up with a goal to cut half its staff without a plan to get there
• GovExec: FEMA brings back employees it recently let go
• White House: Liberating DHS memorandum (April 3)
• NARFE: DHS employees receiving paychecks, for now (April 14)
• CNBC: Where is the TSA pay money coming from?
• CNN: DHS workers morale at historic low
• AFGE: Lawsuit challenging FEMA CORE non-renewals