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President Donald Trump announced that he will officially send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to American airports on Monday to assist the understaffed Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel.
The president’s decision comes amid his and Republicans’ struggles to secure Senate Democrats’ agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which finances the TSA.
“On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job despite the fact that the Radical Left Democrats, who are only focused on protecting hard line criminals who have entered our Country illegally, are endangering the USA by holding back the money that was long ago agreed to with signed and sealed contracts, and all,” President Trump wrote Sunday in a post to Truth Social.
He continued, “But watch, no matter how great a job ICE does, the Lunatics leading the incompetent Dems will be highly critical of their work. THEY WILL DO A FANTASTIC JOB. The great Tom Homan is in charge!!!”
Democrats triggered a partial government shutdown late in January after failing to approve a funding package in several departments, including Defense, Health and Human Services, and Transportation.
The Senate requires DHS and other appropriations bills to receive 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and invoke cloture, which allows bills to move forward to a final, majority vote. While 60 senators are required to end debate, a simple majority of 51 is needed for final passage.
While Republicans hold the majority of Senate seats (53), seven Democrats would need to break party lines and vote to end debate.
Democrats have refused, however, to end it, keeping the government closed until the Trump administration makes major revisions to ICE—which like TSA, is financed by DHS, the Hill reported.
Without TSA funding, workers have been going unpaid for over a month. They are considered essential workers and are required to report to work, regardless of a shutdown, though payment might be delayed.
Still, airports throughout the U.S. have seen a number of workers call off sick or not show up for work. Over 400 TSA workers have quit their jobs, Fox News reported.
Major airports have since experienced significant delays, with security wait times exceeding 3 hours due to a shortage of TSA workers.