A top Transportation Security Administration official warned on Wednesday that it is increasingly likely some airports could close unless Congress is able to quickly pass a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
The agency shutdown has created “the highest wait times in history,” acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill said. More than 480 TSA officers, who have not been paid since mid-February, have quit, according to DHS.
“We are being forced to consolidate lanes and may have to close smaller airports if we do not have enough officers. It is a fluid, challenging and unpredictable situation,” McNeill said at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing Wednesday.
“This is a dire situation. We are facing a potential, perfect storm of severe staffing shortages and an influx of millions of passengers at our airports in less than 80 days,” said McNeill, referring to the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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On Capitol Hill, the DHS funding deal is facing obstacles. Senate Democrats reportedly rejected a Republican offer to remove funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement from the bill. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats made a counteroffer that would reopen the department but still put “common-sense guardrails” on ICE agents, The New York Times reported.
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials also briefed lawmakers Wednesday on the ways their agency is being hobbled by the ongoing shutdown. FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund is down to $3.6 billion, FEMA’s associate administrator said at the hearing, a limited sum that puts the agency’s functions, like its ability to assist in recovery efforts after storms, at risk.
“We are crippling our disaster recovery and response abilities,” she said.
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