91��Ƶ

TSA agents are “quitting in droves” amid the funding fight, Thune said. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

WASHINGTON — Key transportation priorities have remained sidelined with lawmakers deadlocked in a funding standoff over the Department of 91��Ƶland Security, a clash that has strained airport security staffing and consumed congressional floor time.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R‑La.) has been preparing to schedule votes on trucking‑related legislation aimed at strengthening commercial driver license requirements, with expectations that the next highway authorization also could reach the House floor near the Memorial Day recess. But both efforts as of late March sat in limbo.

Funding for DHS remained lapsed for more than a month, forcing many Transportation Security Administration officers to work without pay. The White House stepped in to fund TSA paychecks, a move that helped ease some of the long security waits at certain airports.

With the funding fight claiming committee time and overtaking floor bandwidth, lawmakers who oversee transportation programs sit and wait.

Rep. Steve Womack (R‑Ark.), chairman of the transportation appropriations subcommittee, emphasized at a March 25 hearing that members need to stay engaged despite the distractions. “Every district has housing and transportation assets,” he said.

Separately, House Transportation Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R‑Mo.) has signaled he aims to move the next long-term highway bill as early as April. Current authorization for federal highway programs expires in September, leaving limited time to resolve funding challenges.

The sooner the DHS funding battle is completely resolved, the better for those wheels to start turning.

Democratic leaders insist the situation is avoidable if Republicans agree to broader immigration policy changes as part of the funding package. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D‑N.Y.) said TSA lines are “literally stretching out the door of airports,” adding, “Our TSA agents need to be paid.”

Image

Travelers wait in line at a TSA checkpoint in Houston March 9. (Mark Felix/Bloomberg)

“We can pay TSA workers right here, right now,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D‑Ore.), accusing Republicans of “holding the rest of DHS hostage.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R‑S.D.) said March 25 the standoff could have far-reaching effects on airport security staffing, noting that TSA agents are “quitting in droves” amid the funding fight.

“A lot of DHS employees have been working without pay for more than 80 days so far this fiscal year,” he said.

Scalise stressed the effect the standoff is having on travelers.

“People waiting hours and hours at my home airport in New Orleans … you’ve got people sleeping overnight the night before flights so that they can have a chance of making their flight,” he said.

Congress returns from its Easter recess on April 13.

At the White House, President Donald Trump remained focused on election security as the shutdown dragged on. The administration has also highlighted the Senate’s recent confirmation of former Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R‑Okla.) as the new DHS secretary.

Image

Mullin. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

Even as the DHS impasse dominates attention, lawmakers have begun informal fiscal 2027 funding discussions while awaiting the administration’s next budget proposal, which is expected to include a request for war‑related spending.

Meantime, the Highway Trust Fund — established under President Eisenhower and traditionally fueled by federal gas and diesel taxes — remains under severe strain as revenues continue to fall short of infrastructure needs. Major highway-related programs continue to operate under a fall 2026 deadline, tied to the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.