DHS orders thousands of employees back to work despite shutdown

Politics DHS orders thousands of furloughed employees back to work despite ongoing shutdown By Nicole Sganga Nicole Sganga Homeland Security and Justice Correspondent Nicole Sganga is CBS News' homeland security and justice correspondent. She is based in Washington, D.C., and reports for all shows and platforms. Read Full Bio Nicole Sganga April 13, 2026 / 3:35 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Washington — The Department of Homeland Security has ordered thousands of furloughed employees back to work, according to internal emails obtained by CBS News, even as most of the agency technically remains shut down and unfunded by Congress. The directive, which was issued to employees at DHS agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, marks a significant shift in how the administration is managing the funding lapse, effectively blurring long-standing distinctions between furloughed employees and those who remain on the job during a government shutdown."All DHS employees … are being returned to a work and paid status," DHS Chief Human Capital Officer La' Toya Prieur wrote in an April notice to staff, adding that employees are to report "on your next regularly scheduled duty day."A separate internal message to FEMA personnel states more bluntly: "All FEMA employees will be placed in exempt status and are expected to report in person to their normal duty station."Historically, during lapses in federal funding, only "excepted" employees — those deemed necessary for the protection of life and property — continue working, usually without pay. Non-excepted workers are typically furloughed and barred from performing their duties. DHS' move upends that framework. Under the new guidance, the department said it has determined that employees' roles "advance the purpose of available appropriations," which allows them to resume "normal duties" despite the funding gap.DHS acknowle...