Update April 7th, 2026: President Trump has proposed streamlining the TSA by cutting 9,400 jobs and $1.5 billion from its budget, while shifting some airport security to private firms—moves aimed at boosting efficiency and reducing bureaucratic waste, according to Reuters.
Originally Posted March 23rd, 2026:
You probably remember last year when a prominent Democrat admitted that her party was exploiting its “leverage” by shutting off funding for government programs,” reports James Freeman in the WSJ. Now, along comes a similar moment of candor from another House Dem who acknowledges the consequences of his party’s latest power play, the Journal continues.
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D., Mass.) admitted that she and her Democratic colleagues were exploiting the funding lapse to advance their agenda:
I mean, shutdowns are terrible and of course there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have.
This time around, Democrats are using the convenience and safety of air travel as the leverage point in their latest shutdown gambit. At least one member acknowledges that the partisan effort is not cost-free.
Axio’s Andrew Solender reports on Dems refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security:
Democrats are feeling the heat as federal workers miss paychecks, and DHS warns of airport closures…
Many lawmakers also question whether keeping the agency shut down is meaningfully incentivizing the White House to negotiate in good faith on immigration enforcement reforms.
“It’s not forcing any change,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). “In the meantime, we’re making people hurt. The long lines, that can’t make us more popular.”
Now steps in House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.), who is looking to gather support for a new plan under which he will force a House vote via a discharge
petition. Jeffries new bill would fund much of DHS, but not all of it.
The idea seems to be that Democrats would keep some leverage but not have to hear so many complaints from the airport. Yet Mr. Jeffries might still not have all the leverage he needs.
As Mr. Solender also notes:
The White House has already been keeping ICE and CBP funded with the more than $100 billion made available to the agencies in One Big, Beautiful Bill.
Some of Jeffries’ members are… grumbling about the strategy, with one centrist House Democrat telling Axios the discharge petition “just seems like more of the same.”
“We’re just chasing our tail here. I mean, like, it’s good politics but it’s not going to actually get DHS open and help the officers get their paychecks,” the lawmaker said. This House Democrat said the party should “find a way forward” in negotiations with the White House.
If Mr. Schumer won’t vote to fund the department, continues the Journal, “maybe he ought to go down to JFK Airport, put on a uniform, and help. While he’s there, he can offer apologies to the public in person.”
It might also be the perfect moment for Mr. Schumer to roll out his party’s new pitch to voters: We’re Making People Hurt!
