As DHS Bill Showdown Looms, U.S. Coast Guard Could See Funding Delayed

The looming expiration of federal funding for the Department of Homeland Security could potentially slow down some of the U.S. Coast Guard's historic progress on procurement, but is unlikely to impact day-to-day operations and servicemember pay, according to observers of the appropriations process.

Democrats in Congress are not inclined to support funding for DHS as a whole without major changes at the top, given the recent immigration-enforcement mishaps in Minneapolis. Members of the opposition have called for stricter requirements for search warrants, an end to officer anonymity, and various civil-liberty-focused restrictions on federal agent behavior - along with the ouster of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

The Coast Guard happens to be among the agencies currently domiciled under DHS, where it has lived since its transfer from the Department of Transportation in 2003. Its current location is in large part a function of post-9/11 policy shifts, now 25 years old; in addition to its time at DOT and DHS, it was part of the Treasury for its first century and a half, and has twice been a subsidiary of the Navy, where it lives in time of war.

The clash over funding for DHS may not affect the Coast Guard as much as in previous funding lapses, which repeatedly threatened or delayed servicemember salary payments in recent years. This time, members of the Democratic caucus have acknowledged that the USCG has little connection to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, the agencies most under scrutiny. It is possible that a carve-out for the Coast Guard (and other less-controversial DHS functions, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency) might end up winning in internal negotiations. This would head off a political problem: Immigration and Customs Enforcement received a $75 billion cash infusion from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) last year, and will be able to continue operations unaffected for an extended period even if the DHS funding bill is delayed. Other agencies - like the Coast Guard, or the Transportation Security Administration - would be hit harder by a DHS funding showdown.

"Let’s take care of those agencies that are doing the right thing," Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) told Fox News in a recent interview.

If there isn't a carve-out for the Coast Guard, DHS leadership would be able to pull from a $10 billion supplemental funding pool that the department received in the OBBA in order to pay Coast Guard wages, notes Politico - as it did during the last shutdown. However, a drawdown on the supplemental funds could only cover costs for several months, likely would not pay civilian employees in real-time, and wouldn't guarantee back pay for contractors.