NPR News: 03-27-2026 8PM EDT

President Trump signed an executive order to temporarily pay TSA agents after Congress failed to pass a funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security. House Republicans rejected a Senate bill that funded most of DHS but excluded ICE and Border Patrol. Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, refused support without immigration enforcement changes focused on violent felons rather than families or citizens. DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin said paychecks start Monday. The House plans a vote tonight on a resolution funding DHS at current levels until May, as Congress heads into spring break until mid-April.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche hailed the administration's pardons and sentence commutations for January 6, 2021, Capitol riot participants—including those who assaulted police—as a major accomplishment. Blanche addressed critics claiming inaction: "To the men and women convicted because of January 6th, every one of them was either pardoned or had their sentence commuted." Polls show most Americans disagree with this stance.