March 17, 2026
Security lines are get longer and longer at airports around the country and hundreds of TSA officers have quit their jobs because they haven’t been paid in a month – you may be wondering – what the hell is going on? When is congress going to make this stop? Well – those are great questions …that still have no answer. But what I can tell you is what has been happening since last week and what we expect will happen this week.
As I have been reporting – the reason why we’re seeing this chaos at airports around the country is because congress has not fully funded the department of homeland security. DHS has not been funded because the democrats want serious changes made to the way ICE and Customs and Border Protection operates on the streets of America. Democrats are furious about the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota and they are furious about masked federal officers on the streets and they’re furious that those same masked officers are entering people’s homes without a warrant signed by a judge. Democrats say unless the Republicans and the White House agree to stop all that – they will not give their votes in the Senate to pass a funding bill for DHS. So over the last month – those negotiations between Democrats and the White House have been moving at a snail’s pace. The White House generally does not want to agree to changing those immigration enforcement policies. And Democrats are not interested in backing down. Why? Because up until now – there has been no reason for either side to compromise because the republican base and the democratic base both say their side better not cave.
So that is leaving the unfunded parts of Homeland Security like the Coast Guard, and FEMA and TSA without money to operate. Which in turn is leading to the chaos we’re seeing at the airports. It’s worth noting that Democrats have tried several times to pass bills that would fund all of the DHS agencies like the Coast Guard and FEMA and TSA – but not fund ICE and CBP. But republicans have blocked those bills. They say it’s all or nothing.
Just today – the White House released the latest compromise from border czar Tom Homan. The compromise is – ICE and CBP will adhere to current law by allowing congress to oversee DHS detention facilities, the administration will expand the use of body cameras, the administration will adhere to existing law by not deporting us citizens and will codify current practices of not knowingly detaining US citizens except if that those citizens violate the law. The administration will limit civil immigration enforcement at sensitive areas like schools, churches and hospitals and will require officers to wear visible identification.
The Democrats say that’s not a compromise if you’re just following the law. That’s the base line, you’re supposed to follow the law. The Democrats want to negotiate about masks and judicial warrants and a reasonable use of force policy. None of which are addressed in this letter. And these letters between the white house and democrats keep going around and around like this.
So what’s going to get us off this merry-go-round? It’s unclear. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said he’s going to start a discharge petition to fund all the parts of Homeland Security except for ICE and CBP. But as we know discharge petitions are an uphill battle and the democrats are going to need not only — all the Democrats in the house to say yes – but also — four Republicans must also say yes — to force the bill to the floor for a vote.
I hate to say this – but the reality is – the only way this is going to stop is if the pain you feel because of this shutdown is greater than the pain these lawmakers will feel from their bases if they cave. Does that make sense?
Read the White House letter here.
