Last month, Congress let funding expire for the DHS, which oversees the TSA, amid a disagreement over immigration enforcement.
"If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports," the president wrote.
reached out to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and the Department of Homeland Security by email Saturday for comment. According to DHS, more than 300 TSA agents have resigned amid the partial shutdown. Most TSA employees are classified as essential and remain on duty during the funding lapse but are working without pay. Call-out rates have begun to increase at some airports, contributing to longer wait times at security checkpoints. Airports across the country are reporting delays and are advising travelers to arrive earlier than usual. Major airline CEOs have warned Congress that the shutdown could worsen delays and urged lawmakers to restore DHS funding, underscoring rising operational and safety concerns.The DHS appropriations bill allocates funding for multiple agencies, including the TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency , the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service. A Senate vote on legislation to fund the DHS failed to advance on Friday, leaving the ongoing funding standoff unresolved. The measure fell short of the support needed to move forward, with disagreements continuing over whether to pass a full DHS funding bill or a narrower measure focused on TSA. Amid the funding lapse, Trump has repeatedly blamed Democrats for the airport disruptions, saying they are"fully to blame" for the chaos. On Saturday, Trump wrote he would move ICE agents to airports to conduct security if Democrats did not fund the TSA, writing they would do security"like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country." Trump said there would be a"heavy emphasis on those from Somalia, who have totally destroyed, with the approval of a corrupt Governor, Attorney General, and Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, the once Great State of Minnesota." "I look forward to seeing ICE in action at our Airports," the president concluded in his social media post. Schumer said he plans to introduce an alternative proposal on Saturday that would fund only the TSA, which is responsible for screening passengers and baggage at airports. However, the proposal is not expected to gain sufficient backing as lawmakers meet in a rare weekend session. Negotiations continued behind the scenes, with White House border czar Tom Homan holding a second consecutive day of meetings with a bipartisan group of senators. While Republican leaders indicated the administration had made a slightly broader offer, both parties remain divided and no agreement has been reached. “It’s a very fair, reasonable offer,” said Senator Susan Collins, the GOP chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. A TSA union leader told Fox News on Thursday that security risks at airports tied to the shutdown are likely to"get worse."during a large-scale federal operation in Minneapolis earlier this year. The funding stalemate emerged as Democrats pushed for policy changes in response to those incidents, while withholding support for DHS funding in the absence of such reforms. Since employees of the TSA are designated as essential—they were required to work without pay until Congress restores funding to the DHS, which oversees the TSA.agents in a post on X Saturday as the lapse in payment stretched into a sixth week. However, it's unclear if it's legal for Musk to do this as federal law generally prohibits government employees from receiving outside compensation related to their official duties. Meanwhile, Democrats have proposed several policy changes as part of the funding discussions, including measures that would require immigration enforcement agents to obtain judicial warrants before entering homes, mandate visible identification on uniforms, and restrict the use of face coverings., including expanding the use of body-worn cameras with exceptions for undercover operations and restricting certain immigration enforcement actions at sensitive locations such as hospitals, schools and places of worship.Airports in Austin, Texas, reported wait times exceeding 100 minutes, and travelers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Atlanta experienced long queues as staffing shortages and spring travel demand strained operations, the BBC reported.ICE was not significantly affected by the shutdown because it had already received funding, a factor Trump highlighted while pressing Democrats to end the DHS lapse. Neither the White House nor DHS issued formal guidance indicating that ICE agents would assume TSA’s aviation security functions, and federal law and regulation establish TSA’s screening authorities and training requirements.“The Democrats' reckless DHS shutdown is causing TSA officers to go without pay for the third time in nearly six months...Now, 366 TSA officers have left the force.”“All Democrats are asking is for ICE and CBP to play by the same rules that your local police officer does. Senate Republicans would rather keep DHS shutdown.”"Once again, air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown... First, leaders should immediately come together to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Then they need to act so this problem never happens again.", ours is different: The Courageous Center—it's not"both sides," it's sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you., you support a mission to keep the center strong and vibrant. Members enjoy: Ad-free browsing, exclusive content and editor conversations.Opinion
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
McGovern: DHS, TSA Shutdown Due to Trump ‘Insisting on Doubling Down on Funding ICE and CBP’, ‘I Don’t Want to Fund ICE’Source of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick says he wants to make changes at ICE and end the DHS shutdownThe Bucks County Republican said he's working out the terms of a bill that would prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from wearing masks in most situations.
Read more »
Trump threatens to unleash ICE agents on US airports if Dems don't end shutdownToday's Video Headlines: 03/20/26
Read more »
GOP Sen. Kennedy: I’d Support Funding Everything But ICE, Then Doing Reconciliation to Fund ICESource of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »
Trump threatens to deploy ICE at airports nationwide in response to funding chaosPresident Donald Trump threatened to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to airports across the country if Democrats do not agree to end the
Read more »
Trump threatens to use ICE agents for airport security as delays worsen amid DHS shutdownWait times aren't expected to improve until government funding is restored and TSA officers receive paychecks.
Read more »