In brief
House Republicans voted against a Senate bill that aimed to reopen the Department of Homeland Security without funding immigration agencies, thus extending the government shutdown. Speaker Mike Johnson criticized the Senate proposal as a 'joke', while TSA agents have gone unpaid for over a month, causing significant delays at airports. With Congress set for a two-week break, it appears unlikely that funding for critical services will be restored soon.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives have rejected a bipartisan deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), opting for a different plan that prolongs the shutdown, which has resulted in considerable delays at airports.
The Senate had backed a bill to reopen most of DHS but excluded funding for immigration agencies to gain bipartisan support. However, House Republican leaders dismissed this proposal, with Speaker Mike Johnson denouncing it as a 'joke'.
TSA agents responsible for managing airport security have not received any pay for over a month due to the impasse, leading to significant operational issues. Congress is now scheduled for a two-week recess, raising the likelihood that essential funding for DHS will remain stalled.
House Republicans are advocating for the legislation to include funds for immigration enforcement, proposing to sustain DHS at current levels, including financial support for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), for the next 60 days.
Speaker Mike Johnson stated, 'Republicans are not going to be any part of any effort to reopen our borders or to stop immigration enforcement.'
Despite passing the measure in a narrow 213 to 203 vote, it now returns to the Senate where top Democrat Chuck Schumer has deemed it 'dead on arrival'. Democrats insist that funding to immigration agencies under DHS will be halted unless reforms are enacted.
With Congress taking a break, the urgency for DHS funding, which includes compensation for TSA agents as well as ICE and Customs and Border Protection, remains unresolved. President Donald Trump announced his intention to sign an executive order authorizing payments to TSA workers, who have experienced substantial disruptions in their duties due to a decrease in actively working agents.
Trump’s intervention underscores the complexities of government funding and its impact on air travel, as airports nationwide are facing extreme delays due to the ongoing crisis.
