Department of Homeland Security officials on Thursday warned that the two-month shutdown has piled up contracts, planning work and day-to-day obligations across the agency, with Coast Guard bills mounting, cybersecurity work constrained and border equipment sitting idle. The shutdown began on Feb. 14 and has already reached into operations that DHS counts on for routine maintenance and long-range planning.
Adm. Kevin Lunday said the Coast Guard had more than 5,000 unpaid utility bills, while more than a hundred providers had threatened to cut off electricity and water to Coast Guard stations and air stations. He said the service also had an 18,000-item backlog of Merchant Mariner credentials waiting to be processed, a delay that lands as the U.S. tries to rebuild its maritime workforce. Nick Andersen said about 40% of CISA's staff had been working through much of the shutdown until DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin recalled furloughed employees last week, but he said the agency is still barred from some activities, including outreach. Andersen said a joint cybersecurity advisory on Iranian threat actors was released last week, yet the agency's work remains “more limited than I would like.”
The officials were testifying about fiscal 2027 budget requests when the shutdown's practical damage came into view. That matters because the lapse has spread beyond one bureau: it has touched the Coast Guard, CISA, Customs and Border Protection and DHS's preparations for this summer's FIFA World Cup. The Trump administration recently used funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill to pay DHS personnel, including Coast Guard civilians, who had gone without paychecks for weeks, but that move has not erased the operational strain now visible across the department.
Rodney Scott said aircraft, patrol boats and patrol vehicles that need service are being parked, and that border surveillance equipment requiring maintenance is offline until funding is appropriated. He also said confidential human sources are not being paid. Chris Tomney said the lapse has “significantly impacted our operations,” has hindered coordination with state and local partners and has reduced planning efforts for the World Cup. The strain is no longer abstract: the agency is keeping some assets on the sidelines, and the backlog is growing faster than the shutdown relief.
The shutdown has turned DHS's planning machinery into a bottleneck. Coast Guard stations are waiting on basic bills, CISA is operating under legal limits and border technology is going dark until money returns. Unless funding is restored, the agency heads into the spring with fewer tools, less coordination and less time to get ready for a summer event that depends on all three.
