WASHINGTON, D.C. — The partial government shutdown is dragging into a second month — and now the fight over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding is colliding with airport security nationwide.
President Trump is now saying that there should be no deal to fund DHS— an agency that also oversees TSA, FEMA, CISA and the Coast Guard — until the Senate passes a controversial voter ID bill.
Over the weekend, President Trump reportedly spoke with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who proposed an off-ramp to end the nearly 40-day partial government shutdown impacting only DHS. Thune’s proposed off-ramp, according to reports, would fund DHS — except for ICE — which Democrats have refused to support without serious reforms.
“I don’t think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass ‘THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,’” said President Trump Sunday evening on Truth Social. “In other words, lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!!” Trump added.
Democratic support is needed to reach the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, but Democrats are extremely unlikely to support the SAVE America Act.
“The SAVE Act does not have the votes to pass this chamber and Democrats will fight it every step of the way,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“I’m tying Homeland Security into voter ID — with picture — and proof of citizenship, in order to vote. Those two items are the most important thing having to do with Homeland Security. So it should be part of the Homeland Security bill and I’m requesting that the Republican senators do that immediately,” President Trump said in Memphis, TN, on Monday.
As the political fight continues, so does the lack of pay for TSA. The result — thousands of weekend screening absences. Homeland Security reported nearly 3,500 TSA call-outs on Sunday. Pittsburgh’s and Philadelphia’s airports saw around a quarter of TSA officers call out on Sunday. Others, like JFK Jr. International Airport in New York, saw closer to a 40% call-out rate.
Over the weekend, Democrats offered legislation that would have funded only TSA. But those attempts failed along party lines, as negotiations continue between Democratic leaders and the administration.
“We need to bring this to an end today,” said Schumer. “Fund TSA with no strings attached.”
In the meantime, the administration is now directing ICE agents to help fill the gaps with airport security and screening.
“We’re there to help the American people transit those lines that are taking hours because the Democrats shut the government down,” said White House Border Czar Tom Homan. “The Democrats are punishing the men and women of TSA because they don’t like immigration enforcement. They’re punishing members of the TSA, they’re punishing members of the Coast Guard and CISA and FEMA. They can open the government right now.”
“The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize — or in some instances kill them. We’ve already seen how ICE conducts itself. These are untrained individuals when it comes to doing the current job that they have, for the most part, let alone deploying them in close exposure in highly sensitive situations at airports across the country,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
President Trump is urging Senate Republican leaders to cancel the upcoming spring recess at the end of this week if there is no deal to fund DHS.
“Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
