{"id":17345,"date":"2026-04-17T14:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T14:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/17345\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T14:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T14:12:24","slug":"dhs-officials-warn-about-growing-shutdown-backlogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/17345\/","title":{"rendered":"DHS officials warn about growing shutdown backlogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The DHS shutdown is leading to unpaid utility bills at the Coast Guard, a vacuum of cyber planning activities at CISA, and grounded aircraft at CBP. <\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Justin Doubleday<\/a>@jdoubledayWFED<\/a><\/p>\n

\n April 16, 2026 6:37 pm <\/p>\n

3 min read<\/p>\n

Department of Homeland Security officials are warning about a growing backlog of contracts, planning activities and more delays as a result of the two-month-long government shutdown.<\/p>\n

DHS officials, testifying before multiple committees on Thursday about fiscal 2027 budget requests, flagged the ongoing impacts of Congress failing to pass a 2026 budget for the department. The DHS-specific shutdown began Feb. 14.<\/p>\n

Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard, applauded the Trump administration\u2019s recent decision to use funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill to pay DHS personnel, including Coast Guard civilians,<\/a> who had gone without paychecks for weeks.<\/p>\n

But, he said the shutdown continues to threaten other aspects of Coast Guard operations.<\/p>\n

]]><\/p>\n

\u201cWe also have over 5,000 unpaid utility bills, over a hundred providers that have threatened to cut off electricity and water to our Coast Guard stations and air stations,\u201d Lunday told the House Appropriations homeland Security subcommittee on Thursday. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve got a growing backlog of 18,000 Merchant Mariner credentials that are not processed at a time when the U.S. is trying to rebuild our maritime might.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Andersen, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, noted just 40% of CISA\u2019s staff had been working through much of the shutdown, until DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin recalled furloughed staff last week.<\/a><\/p>\n

But Andersen said CISA still isn\u2019t legally allowed to carry out certain activities, such as outreach. That\u2019s despite ongoing threats to critical infrastructure systems due to the conflict in Iran.<\/p>\n

Andersen noted that CISA did release a joint cybersecurity advisory<\/a> on Iranian threat actors last week. But he said the agency is \u201cmore limited than I would like\u201d in its ability to counter threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of those preparatory activities within the environment, a lot of the outreach that we would typically be able to do, that\u2019s simply not possible or legally allowed during the period of a shutdown,\u201d Andersen said. \u201cWe\u2019re doing everything that we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

During an earlier hearing before the same House subcommittee, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott noted how the shutdown has impacted CBP\u2019s service contracts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAircraft, patrol boats, patrol vehicles that need service, they\u2019re being parked,\u201d Scott said. \u201cBorder surveillance equipment that requires maintenance is offline until funding is appropriated. Our confidential human sources are not being paid and we\u2019re at risk of losing some of our intelligence tools that help us secure the border.\u201d<\/p>\n

]]><\/p>\n

During a Senate Appropriations homeland security subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, witnesses also discussed the impacts of the shutdown on DHS\u2019s planning for this summer\u2019s FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n

Chris Tomney, director of the Office of Homeland Security Situational Awareness at DHS, said the lapse has \u201csignificantly impacted our operations,\u201d pointing to the hundreds of Transportation Security Administration employees who have quit in recent months.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has hindered our coordination with state and locals,\u201d Tomney added. \u201cIt has reduced our planning efforts. With all that being said, though, let me assure this committee and the members of the public, we will have a safe, we will have a secure, it will be an enjoyable tournament, but it has had a negative impact on the planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought claimed the Trump administration\u2019s move to re-direct funds to pay all DHS workers during the shutdown was done so Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin \u201cdoesn\u2019t have a complete walkout on his hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of right now, the Department of Homeland Security is disintegrating because the secretary and I are having to figure out ways to temporarily fund people\u2019s paychecks so we don\u2019t have people quit and embark on new careers,\u201d Vought said during a Thursday hearing before the Senate Budget Committee.<\/p>\n

Copyright
\n \u00a9\u00a02026 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.\n <\/p>\n