The Senate on Friday once again failed to advance a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security and end the partial shutdown of the Transportation Security Administration and other agencies that began five weeks ago.
The Senate procedural motion on the funding bill failed, 47-37, falling well short of the 60 votes needed as 16 senators missed the vote, which was held open for more than two hours.
Pressure mounting as TSA agents go without pay: As airports experience some of the busiest travel days of the year, callout rates for TSA workers this week have hovered around 10% as screeners continue working without pay. Some airports are seeing sharply higher absentee rates. “Some of the airports with the highest TSA callout rates Thursday were Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (33.1%); Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (31.8%); Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (31.2%); and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (28.7%),” CNN reports.
But the hours-long security lines and delays at key travel hubs have yet to break the political stalemate over DHS funding as Democrats continue to insist on reforms to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. Republicans have pushed to fund the department as a whole, while Democrats have offered to fund TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard and other agencies within DHS excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would put forth a measure Saturday to fund only the TSA, but that is expected to fail, too.
“Tomorrow, America will see the matter crystal clear: Which senators want to open up TSA, pay TSA workers and end the chaos at our airports, and which senators are going to block TSA funding yet again,” Schumer said.
Senate plans weekend work: While the shutdown standoff continues, the Senate is set to work over the weekend to continue debate over the SAVE America Act, the voter reform bill that President Trump has made his top legislative priority. The bill is stalled in the Senate and appears doomed to fail amid bipartisan opposition.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Friday also set up a vote as soon as Sunday on the nomination of Sen. Markwayne Mullin to head DHS.