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Amid a funding standoff that went into overtime on Friday, Sen. John Fetterman is stressing the need for lawmakers to end travel delays and support the country’s weakened airport security as he warns that security preparations are “significantly behind” for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“I could never justify this from the start, but here we are day 39, 40? It’s like, how long are you gonna continue that?” Fetterman told Fox News Digital earlier this week.
Fetterman raised concerns that the shutdown — the second for TSA workers have endured in just three months — has wreaked havoc on the country’s transportation security workforce that won’t be easily undone ahead of high-profile U.S.-based events.
“Preparations are significantly behind and now we’re 77 days out and this is still shut down. And you have millions of people from abroad coming and millions of Americans joining these two,” Fetterman said, referring to the World Cup.
SCHUMER GAMBIT FAILS AS DHS SHUTDOWN HITS 36 DAYS AND AIRPORT LINES GROW
Fetterman’s comments come as the Senate advanced most of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) funding in the early hours of Friday morning. Their bill looked to supply the many agencies that operate under DHS such as the Secret Service, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), TSA and more — but at the exclusion of funding for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Funding DHS first ran dry on February 14, when Democrats made their support for the agency conditional on a set of reforms to rein in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The Senate’s bill didn’t include any of the Democrats’ reform, but also didn’t include funding for ICE, either. That proposal ran into fierce resistance in the House of Representatives, where even U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson blasted the attempted resolution.
“This gambit that was done last night is a joke. I’m quite convinced — it can’t be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill. It’s pretty alarming. It says, quote: ‘the contents printed under the headings of this bill: U.S. immigrations and customs enforcement and border security operations … an amount specified in the final bill shall be zero’,” Johnson said, reading from the Senate bill’s text.
“We’re not doing that,” Johnson added.
The agency has, however, already received $75 billion through Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill in July of 2025 — enough to fund the agency’s operations at least through 2026. House Republicans stressed that it’s unclear if those funds can legally be used to fund all of ICE’s operations.
Instead of passing the Senate’s plan, the House advanced its own package late Friday night, which would extend DHS funding at current levels for two months, buying more time for lawmakers to continue negotiations over ICE.
The House version is likely dead on arrival in the Senate.
TSA CALLOUTS HIT HOUSTON, ATLANTA, NEW ORLEANS HARDEST, 450 OFFICERS HAVE QUIT NATIONWIDE
As lawmakers continue the back-and-forth over the ICE funding standoff, spokespersons from DHS also echoed Fetterman’s calls to restore travel operations, slamming the compounding effects of the repeated shutdowns.
“Now, 366 TSA officers have left the force. Because of this DHS shutdown, Americans are facing HOURS long waits at airports across the country. Democrats must reopen DHS now,” Lauren Bis, a spokesperson for the agency said in a press release.
Although Trump signed an executive order on Friday that looks to fund the salaries of TSA workers, the agency also noted that even with the resolution to the shutdown looking hopeful, the country’s travel security would take time to recover.
“TSA does not have the luxury of time. The FIFA World Cup is kicking off on June 11 – less than three months away. We are anticipating a significant influx in passenger volume as fans travel through our airports to see the games,” DHS said in a press release.
“Even if TSA were to hire new officers upon the conclusion of the DHS shutdown, those officers would not be able to work on the checkpoint until well after the World Cup has concluded.”
DHS DEAL IN LIMBO AS DEMOCRATS DEMAND TOUGHER ICE CRACKDOWN DESPITE GOP COMPROMISE
Fetterman urged members of his own party to focus on the country’s outstanding travel needs instead of continuing to pursue their demands.
“[It’s] just getting harder and harder to justify extending this shutdown,” Fetterman said.
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