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A six-week partial U.S. government shutdown continued Friday after House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate agreement that had passed unanimously just hours earlier. The deadlock has sparked mounting chaos at airports nationwide during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
President Donald Trump responded by declaring an emergency and directing the Transportation Security Administration to resume paying its airport security officers, with paychecks expected to begin arriving as early as Monday. The move came as TSA reported nearly 12% of its 50,000 officers failed to report for duty Thursday, with absenteeism at major hubs like New York's JFK, Atlanta, Baltimore, and both Houston airports exceeding one-third of staff. Long security wait times and significant travel disruptions were reported across the country Friday, with airline officials warning conditions could worsen over the weekend.
Rather than adopting the Senate's compromise legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced plans for a separate two-month funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security that includes money for immigration enforcement — a provision Senate Democrats immediately rejected. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the proposal "dead on arrival," noting the Senate had already begun a two-week recess.
The Senate bill would have restored pay for airport screeners, Coast Guard members, and disaster-response personnel who have gone without paychecks since mid-February, but it excluded funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol while stopping short of imposing Democratic-backed immigration reforms.
The shutdown stems from a broader standoff over immigration policy. Democrats have used their limited congressional leverage to block DHS funding following the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis. Republicans, meanwhile, remain firm in their opposition to any bill that restricts immigration enforcement operations.
