Trump Demands Separate Long Shot Bill Before DHS Funding Deal, Extending TSA Chaos

President Donald Trump has upended ongoing Capitol Hill negotiations to fund the Department of Homeland Security by demanding that Republicans refuse to make any deal with Democrats unless the 'SAVE America Act' is passed first.

“President Donald Trump declared Sunday night that Republicans should refuse any deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security until Democrats agree to pass the SAVE America Act, a voter ID bill requiring proof of citizenship to register and photo identification to vote”

BET

This controversial bill would require Americans to produce documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, going beyond standard driver's license requirements.

BET

Trump made his stance clear in a Truth Social post, declaring 'I don't think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass 'THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.'

This ultimatum effectively ties the DHS funding crisis to a voter restrictions bill that has almost no chance of becoming law.

The demand leaves the department's future funding in significant doubt as the political stalemate continues.

The ongoing DHS funding crisis has created severe chaos at airports across the nation as Transportation Security Administration screeners continue working without pay.

With hundreds of TSA officers resigning due to the lack of compensation, security lines have grown to multihour waits at some of the country's busiest airports.

Insider

The situation has deteriorated over the weekend, with call-out rates spiking daily and TSA agents going yet another week without pay.

If no funding deal is reached before the Senate's scheduled recess on March 30, this shutdown will stretch past 60 days and become the longest in U.S. history.

The human impact is particularly acute for Black travelers and TSA workers who have been forced to sell plasma to cover their bills.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune attempted to break the logjam by proposing a compromise that would fund DHS except for ICE, with ICE funding later secured through reconciliation.

“President Trump rejected a deal that would have provided funding for TSA agents, according to a report”

International Business Times

This approach would have ended the stalemate and allowed Democrats to avoid voting directly for ICE funding.

According to Punchbowl News, Thune presented this option to Trump, but the president rejected it outright.

Thune acknowledged Trump's focus on connecting everything to the SAVE America Act, stating 'He's got a view about, you know, connecting everything to the SAVE America Act. My view is we should deal with the immediate crisis in front of us and figure out how to fund the government.'

The Republican party appears divided, with some senators like Lisa Murkowski warning that deploying ICE agents to airports creates 'additional tension' while others privately describe the situation as 'a mess' with 'no one quite sure what's going on.'

In response to the worsening airport crisis, President Trump has ordered ICE agents to be deployed at airports nationwide, a move that caught even ICE officials by surprise.

The administration claims this deployment is necessary to ensure airport security, but ICE agents are not trained to screen X-rayed luggage and will instead focus on guarding airport exits and arresting undocumented immigrants.

Punchbowl News

Border czar Tom Homan initially stated 'We need to get the government back open' regarding the DHS shutdown, but Trump's ICE deployment represents a significant escalation of the crisis.

The move has drawn criticism from some Republicans who question whether ICE should be performing airport security tasks, while some Democrats have privately expressed optimism that it will cause additional problems.

Trump has further complicated the situation by threatening to publicly criticize Senate Republicans if they leave town for Easter recess and inviting them to the White House for dinner, which some senators interpreted as a threat rather than a reward.