Travel Delays

At a House Homeland Security committee hearing that stretched over three hours lawmakers and Transportation Security Administration officials stressed the urgency of the ongoing government shutdown as TSA workers scrape by without pay and long security lines wind through some airports. The shutdown may force TSA to consider closing some airports until funding resumes, said Ha Nguyen McNeill, the agency’s acting administrator. Senators are chasing a deal that would fund much of DHS, including TSA workers who are going without pay, but exclude immigration operations that have been core to the dispute.

President Donald Trump says he will sign an order instructing the Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay Transportation Security Administration workers. The Senate is working late into the night to resolve the 41-day funding impasse that has jammed airports and left workers without paychecks. Trump announced his decision in a social media post saying he wanted to quickly stop the “Chaos at the Airports.” The White House and senators appear to be narrowing in on a endgame before TSA workers miss another paycheck Friday. Democrats have been refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security as they demand changes to rein in Trump’s immigration enforcement operations.