The White House is escalating its standoff with congressional Democrats over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, suspending the Global Entry program for international travelers and floating the possibility of doing the same with TSA PreCheck.
The moves come as the DHS funding lapse stretches into its 11th day, with negotiations showing little sign of a breakthrough. Administration officials say the actions are necessary under the circumstances. Democrats, meanwhile, are accusing the administration of deliberately making life harder for Americans in an attempt to force concessions.
The funding fight has largely centered on Democratic demands to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Talks have stalled as Democrats continue to press for changes, while Republicans show little willingness to budge.
Jim Manley, a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Ted Kennedy, suggested the White House may just be getting started.
“I expect we’ll see more of these kinds of applications of pressure in the days to come,” Manley said, adding that the only question is whether the next steps will be low-impact or more acute. He described the current approach as targeted rather than the “smash mouth” style often associated with the administration.
Alongside the travel program suspensions, the administration announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has paused “non-emergency recovery work.” Lawmakers will also no longer receive courtesy airport escorts. In addition, all FEMA employee travel must now receive DHS approval, even if funded through separate disaster accounts not directly tied to the lapsed appropriations.
Democrats argue the measures are unnecessary and harmful. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pointed out that similar steps were not taken during last fall’s 43-day shutdown. He accused the administration of using “bullying tactics” and said Democrats are fighting against what he described as abuse.
Democrats also noted that the White House reversed course within hours on the planned suspension of TSA PreCheck, which had 20 million active members as of August 2024, according to DHS.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the ranking member on the Senate Commerce Committee’s aviation subcommittee, said travelers and airlines were “understandably shocked” by what she called chaotic actions surrounding the travel programs. She accused the administration of punishing Americans instead of resolving the dispute.
Air travel has historically been a pressure point during government shutdowns, and the Transportation Security Administration is under particular scrutiny as employees work without pay. A 2019 sick-out by air traffic controllers effectively ended what became the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history.
Although air traffic controllers are funded separately, concerns remain about TSA workers potentially failing to report to work if paychecks are delayed. One GOP senator warned that widespread absences could cause major delays and losses for airlines.
Democrats have tied their funding demands to recent ICE operations in Minneapolis, where federal immigration authorities shot and killed two U.S. citizens last month. In response, the White House circulated talking points detailing actions taken since border czar Tom Homan assumed operational control of ICE and border agents. The administration said Homan conducted outreach and implemented de-escalatory improvements that achieved the president’s goals.
Among the changes were equipping agents with body cameras and requiring officers to clearly display badges and other identifiers during operations. Enhanced operations in Minneapolis ended on Feb. 12.
Democratic negotiators recently issued a counterproposal calling for immigration agents to be unmasked, to align more closely with local law enforcement standards, and to tighten warrant requirements. Republicans have labeled those demands red lines and dismissed the proposal as a rehash of earlier requests.
GOP lawmakers have shown little appetite to concede, noting that ICE operations remain largely unaffected by the shutdown due to $75 billion in border funding approved in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Meanwhile, roughly 90 percent of DHS employees are deemed essential and continue working without pay. Those potentially missing end-of-week paychecks include workers at TSA, FEMA, the Secret Service and the Coast Guard.
The partisan tension spilled onto social media, where Sen. Mike Lee criticized liberals over mask requirements for ICE agents, drawing sharp responses from Democratic senators Brian Schatz and Chris Murphy. Lee later deleted his post.
With neither side backing down, the battle over DHS funding shows no signs of cooling as the shutdown drags on.
[READ MORE: Megyn Kelly Defends Celebrating Alysa Liu’s Gold, Says Love of America Is What Matters]
