A government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security has led to hundreds of TSA workers quitting and longer airport lines, amid stalled negotiations in the Senate. Senator John Fetterman, the sole Democrat supporting current funding, criticized the impasse for punishing frontline workers without affecting immigration enforcement. A test vote to fund the department failed 51-46 on Thursday.
The shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees agencies including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection, entered its third week without resolution. Senate negotiations over federal immigration enforcement tactics have stalled, with Democrats demanding changes such as ending masking requirements for agents and requiring judicial warrants for many immigration-related arrests.
Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), the only Democrat backing funding for DHS in its current form, expressed frustration on NewsNation's “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.” “We all have to acknowledge that this shutdown had no impact, zero impact on ICE, all of the funding was already in place there from the Big Beautiful Bill that I did not vote for,” he said. He added, “Why punish all those TSA agents and all the other people under the DHS umbrella just because the base demands that we just shut it down, knowing, absolutely knowing it will have no impact on ICE.” In a separate CBS News interview, Fetterman acknowledged supporting reforms to the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) posted on X Thursday evening: “Democrats are ready to fund TSA. Republicans are blocking it. Democrats are ready to fund CISA. Republicans are blocking it. Democrats are ready to fund FEMA. And Coast Guard. Republicans are blocking it.” A Senate test vote to fully fund DHS failed 51-46 that day, according to Fox News.
TSA agents have been working without paychecks since Friday, resulting in increased callouts and longer security lines at airports nationwide, including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Ken Cuccinelli, a former top DHS official under President Donald Trump, told The Daily Wire, “They’re not getting rich doing these jobs. They live paycheck to paycheck.” The White House noted that 300 TSA agents have quit since the shutdown began.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) described the situation as “in an unsustainable position,” pointing out it has been over two weeks since the White House sent a counteroffer to Senate Democrats. Senator Katie Britt (R-AL), leading Republican negotiations, posted on X that Republicans offered a two-week funding stopgap four times Thursday afternoon, but Democrats responded with bills that would defund law enforcement, TSA, Secret Service, Coast Guard, and FEMA. The White House stated it remains “interested in continuing conversations with Democrats about ways to end this shutdown,” adding that Democrats have chosen to “punish the American people with long TSA lines and withholding paychecks from workers who help protect our country.”
