Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused the president of trying to “sabotage” delicate negotiations on Capitol Hill to end the shutdown at a critical juncture.
ICE agents dispatched to airports as TSA shortage worsens
Travelers are facing long lines at TSA as ICE officers are deployed to airports during the partial government shutdown.
WASHINGTON – Pressure on the White House and Capitol Hill to end the Department of Homeland Security’s month-long shutdown is at an all-time high as ICE officers are deployed to ease TSA lines at airports across the country.
President Donald Trump is not giving in. Instead, he upended delicate negotiations among lawmakers over the weekend and revolted Senate Republicans and aides by linking fighting the government shutdown to voting restriction legislation that has little chance of survival in Congress.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) met with President Trump on March 22 to discuss a deal proposed by White House staffers that could end the funding crisis before Congress goes into its two-week Easter recess, according to people familiar with the conversation.
As part of a compromise backed by key Senate Republicans, lawmakers could postpone a vote on ICE funding but vote to keep the rest of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration.
Despite the closure, ICE has remained open, leveraging vast amounts of cash allocated through the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress last year. Mr. Thune and Mr. Trump discussed how a separate reconciliation bill could be used to send funds to ICE instead of a more typical spending bill. USA TODAY reports that lawmakers are already discussing the bill with a view to passing it later this year.
The president rejected the offer.
“His view is that he ties everything to the SAVE America Act,” Thune told reporters on March 23. “My view is that we should address the immediate crisis at hand and think about how to fund the government.”
The White House referred USA TODAY to social media posts from the president over the weekend in which he acknowledged that reopening DHS was not his top legislative priority.
“I don’t think we should make any deals with these crazy, country-destroying radical left Democrats unless they vote with the Republicans and pass the Save America Act,” Trump wrote. “This is far more important than anything else we do in the Senate.”
The nation’s airports have reached a tipping point where they are virtually unsustainable, dashing early hopes of closure. Those expectations have reached a critical juncture. TSA agents are going to spend another week without pay, and their troop numbers are skyrocketing by the day. Hundreds of people resigned. And the sight of immigration officials, ostensibly brought in to help backfill missing workers and manage long lines, sparked anxiety at many airports.
“We’re just trying to strengthen them as much as possible. It doesn’t require them to have any special talent or training. And we relieve those officers of the specific task of vetting,” Border Patrol Agent Tom Homan said on Chris Cuomo’s “SiriusXM.” “So we’re trying to move the lines faster, and I think ICE can help with that.”
Homan has met several times in the past week with Senate Democrats and Republicans, with lawmakers and aides encouraging constructive dialogue and positive progress, particularly on increased use of handheld cameras and police training reform.
USA TODAY reported that questions remain regarding the mask ban, warrants and standards for use of force.
After the White House rejected an offer to reconvene with Senate Democrats on March 23, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused President Trump of trying to “sabotage negotiations.”
A group of Republican senators, including Alabama Republican Katie Britt, who is helping spearhead the DHS negotiations, was scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House early Monday evening.
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach me by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
