The bad news is that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remains in limbo because there is no official funding measure in place. Earlier this morning, the Senate passed a temporary funding measure without the reforms that the Democrats have been demanding, using a voice vote. After that, they left town without consulting the House, which is furious about the bill and disapproves of it.
Speaker Mike Johnson rejected the Senate’s proposal, stating that the House will instead pass a 60-day continuing resolution to fund all of DHS. The Senate’s funding excluded Border Patrol and ICE.
With the Senate gone until April 13, the threat of a DHS shutdown continues. President Trump has directed DHS to pay TSA agents using funds from last year’s tax cut bill. Additionally, ICE personnel have been deployed at airports to handle security screening, leading to excessively long lines. CNN was forced to acknowledge this situation once again in Atlanta:
CNN: “Yeah, Wolf, we had long lines this morning that stretched outside the building.”
“But just like that, they’re all gone right now.”
“Look at the lines here at the main checkpoint!”
“There is almost nothing to see here.”
“But we will show you though, is all the ICE agents who are now manning the front post here, checking IDs.”
“So they’re helping to keep that flow move very quickly here at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.”
“We’re talking about wait times were over an hour this morning, that is all gone.”
President Trump decried the Senate’s late-night move before skipping town but he appropriately added that it’s Congress’s business and he’ll let them sort it all out.
Meanwhile, Democrats believed that the presence of ICE at airports would lead to chaos, with an underlying hope that a shooting might occur in the security lines. However, none of that transpired.
The only people who thought sending ICE agents to help clear TSA lines were Democrats. Color me surprised.