“Democrats are ready to fund TSA. Republicans are blocking it.” Here’s what each side is actually stopping
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats and Republicans are accusing each other of jeopardizing airport security and homeland defense as a standoff over Department of Homeland Security funding drags on, with each side blocking a different path to reopening the agency. The fight has left the Transportation Security Administration under mounting strain just as spring break travel ramps up nationwide.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that Democrats were prepared to fund TSA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FEMA and the Coast Guard, while accusing Republicans of blocking those efforts. But the dispute is more complicated than either party’s messaging suggests. Republicans have been pressing to fund the entire Homeland Security Department, while Democrats have insisted on separating out certain agencies or attaching changes to immigration enforcement policy before allowing a broader bill to move forward.
Reuters reported that the Senate failed Thursday to break the impasse after a Republican proposal to fund all of DHS fell short of the votes needed to advance. Before that, Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno objected to a Democratic proposal that would have separately funded TSA. Moreno later floated a two-week extension for DHS funding, but Democrats blocked that plan as well.
At the center of the shutdown fight is immigration policy. Democrats have said they are unwilling to support a clean DHS funding bill unless Republicans agree to new limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection operations. Among the changes Democrats have demanded are tighter warrant rules, limits on agents wearing masks, body-camera requirements and changes to use-of-force standards. Republicans have rejected those conditions and said Democrats are effectively holding the rest of the department hostage to an immigration fight.
That means Schumer’s claim that “Republicans are blocking” TSA funding is only partly true. Republicans did block a Democratic effort to fund TSA separately, but Democrats have also blocked Republican efforts to fund Homeland Security more broadly. In practice, each side is backing its own approach and refusing the other’s, leaving TSA workers, airports and travelers stuck in the middle.
The consequences are already visible. Reuters reported that more than 300 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began and that some airports have reported security lines stretching beyond two hours. Philadelphia International Airport closed a terminal checkpoint because of TSA staffing issues, while airports including Houston Hobby and New Orleans have reported significant delays. Airlines are warning that problems could worsen with 171 million passengers expected to fly during the spring travel period.
AP has also reported that the shutdown has entered its fourth week and that lawmakers on both sides have openly acknowledged the deadlock. Democrats argue they are trying to isolate essential security and emergency-response functions from the fight over immigration enforcement. Republicans counter that homeland security cannot be split apart that way and say the full department should be funded without policy concessions.
For now, the simplest description is that Republicans are blocking Democrats’ narrower agency-by-agency fix, and Democrats are blocking Republicans’ full-department funding bill. Until one side bends or both sides negotiate a compromise, the shutdown is likely to continue and the political blame game will keep escalating alongside the airport lines.
