The Surprising Politics of Long TSA LinesAs the DHS shutdown comes to a head, Democrats hold all of the cards
A month ago, the Department of Homeland Security shut down because Republicans refused to agree to any real reforms to ICE after two Americans were shot dead in the street. In any normal political environment, this would be a major, ongoing story. But the DHS shutdown quickly faded from the conversation because Trump started a war with Iran that is rapidly spiraling out of control and has triggered a global economic crisis. The shutdown is back in the news this week, as videos began circulating of massive TSA lines at airports across the country. In some cases, the lines extended beyond the terminal onto the sidewalk, with passengers waiting more than an hour just to get through security. The DHS shutdown is now disrupting travel across the country. TSA was always going to be where the shutdown showed up in people’s lives. ICE and the rest of DHS’s immigration enforcement have plenty of money thanks to the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, which funneled tens of billions into Trump’s mass deportation operation. TSA agents, though deemed essential and required to keep working, aren’t being paid — and many are understandably not showing up. Trump upped the ante over the weekend, threatening to send ICE agents to airports to cover the understaffed TSA checkpoints. He apparently got the idea from a random caller on a Fox News show, which is probably not the policy pipeline you want for the person with the nuclear codes. Most shutdowns end the moment air travel gets disrupted. Staffing shortages at air traffic control helped end both the 2019 and 2025 government shutdowns. The same dynamic may be playing out here. This is normally the moment when Democrats start feeling the pressure and either cut an inferior deal or cave altogether. They should not do that. The politics are not what they seem. Democrats have a much stronger hand than it appears... Continue reading this post for free in the Substack app
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Monday, March 23, 2026
The Surprising Politics of Long TSA Lines
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