March 10, 2026
I bet you forgot — we’re in a partial government shutdown. But if you’re going to the airport anytime soon – you’re going to feel it bit time. That’s because we’re seeing hours long security lines. We’re talking three or four hours of waiting just to get through the TSA checkpoint.
But why? Because the Homeland Security department was not funded by congress and that includes TSA. So after 25 days of no funding… now we’re seeing staffing shortages with TSA agents who are not showing up to work because they’re not getting paid. And when there are fewer agents checking in passengers at the airport, the security lines get longer and longer. And this isn’t just hitting one airport. It’s hitting multiple airports. In fact some airports are suggesting that passengers arrive 3 or 4 hours early for their domestic flights.
So when will congress restore the funding? When there’s a deal made between Democrats and Republicans. See – Homeland Security also oversees ICE and Customs and Border Protection. Democrats have said they are not going to fund Homeland Security until serious policy changes are made to reign in how ICE and CBP operate on the streets of America. The democrats want ICE and CBP agents to take the masks off and get a judicial warrant before they enter someone’s home and they want body cameras among several demands. But there has been no progress for weeks.
Democrats and Republicans keep pointing the finger at each other saying neither side is negotiating in good faith.
The fact is ICE and CBP were funded in in the big beautiful bill. Ice got $75 billion and about $10 billion went to Customs and Border Protection. So they are still able to operate because they can pull that money. But the other agencies within DHS cannot – and those include the coast guard and FEMA and TSA.
Look – there’s no end in sight here. The Republicans don’t feel like they need to compromise on these changes and neither do Democrats. So while we’re in this standoff just last week the House passed a bill to fund all of Homeland Security through the rest of the fiscal year. That is going nowhere in the Senate. And in the Senate last week — Senator Patty Murry a Democrat from Washington tried to pass a bill that would have funded every other department in Homeland Security except for ICE and CBP while the policy discussions continue. But that bill was blocked by – the senator you just heard from Katie Britt.
Watch the Senate GOP press conference here.
Watch the Senate Democratic press conference here.
