Democrats worry centrists will undercut them on DHS shutdown amid TSA meltdown

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Democrats worry centrists will undercut them on DHS shutdown amid TSA meltdown

The Hill
by Alexander Bolton
03/26/26

Senate Democrats insisting on major reforms to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in exchange for ending the 40-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are worried they may be undercut by centrists looking for a way to end the stalemate.

Almost every Senate Democrat voted again Wednesday to block a House-passed bill to fund the DHS through September to give their leadership more time to pursue additional concessions from the White House.

Centrist Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has repeatedly broken with his party on shutdown votes and other issues, was the only Democrat to vote to advance the proposal.

But some Democratic senators fear centrist colleagues who broke ranks with the leadership in the fall to reopen the government after a record-setting 43-day shutdown are getting ready to jump ship again — particularly as pressures rise at airports from Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers going without pay and calling out.

Several Democratic senators who bucked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) during the fall shutdown met with White House border czar Tom Homan last week, including Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Angus King (Maine), an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

The meeting between Democratic centrists and the lead White House negotiator has sparked anxiety among Democratic senators who worry their colleagues might accept a proposal endorsed by President Trump to fund the DHS but set aside funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations unit. 

(more)
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5801109-fetterman-tsa-paycheck-pressure/