Why Are Senate Democrats Making Air Travel Worse?

Daniel McCarthy
Mon, 16 Mar 2026 16:19:00 -0700
Opinion

Next time your flight's delayed or canceled, or you're stuck in an endless TSA line, thank a congressional Democrat.

Senate Dems have decided to make a show of their support for lawless immigration by inflicting pain on American travelers.

They've blocked funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Transportation Security Administration, even though this stunt doesn't affect the budget of the agency Democrats really want to hurt, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Updated: Mon Mar 16, 2026

Next time your flight's delayed or canceled, or you're stuck in an endless TSA line, thank a congressional Democrat.

Senate Dems have decided to make a show of their support for lawless immigration by inflicting pain on American travelers.

They've blocked funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Transportation Security Administration, even though this stunt doesn't affect the budget of the agency Democrats really want to hurt, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE already has the funding it needs — but TSA doesn't, which means airport security workers aren't getting paid, so many aren't showing up, or they're quitting to find jobs Chuck Schumer can't hold hostage.

It's bad enough congressional Democrats are taking their anger at immigration enforcement out on American travelers; what's yet worse is they're doing it wartime.

Do we want less airport security — or unhappy, unpaid agents — at a moment when terrorist attacks are more likely?

Sen. Schumer shouldn't wait till someone blows a plane out of the sky before rethinking his tactics.

There is no good-faith reason for Democrats to turn their outrage at ICE into a shutdown of other DHS divisions.

They're playing a legislative game with other people's livelihoods, travel plans and very lives.

DHS says more than 300 TSA agents have already quit during the partial shutdown.

Who can blame them — do Democrats expect them to work for free?

This isn't a shutdown forced on Congress by difficult decisions about the debt ceiling; this one's gratuitous, motivated by pure partisan angling.

Schumer and company are keen to use ICE as a midterm campaign issue, not only because they hope the deaths of two left-wing activists during anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis this winter will scare independents into opposing President Donald Trump's immigration policies, but also because Democrats need to appease progressives in the party's base who actually want more illegal immigration.

The Dems keep trying to have it both ways — presenting themselves as willing to countenance some restrictions on immigration, while pandering to a hard core of activists who demand immigration be limitless, even if that means it's also lawless.

The Joe Biden administration didn't fail to enforce the nation's immigration laws; it chose to ignore them, to the maximum extent it could get away with.

His party hasn't changed its ways since voters rebuked it two years ago by sending Trump back to the White House.

Senate Democrats' antics are proof of that: they're happy to make life harder for American travelers and government employees if it makes life easier for illegal aliens.

Their policy puts Americans last.

Voters should be mindful of that in the run-up to the midterms.

This November's elections are almost inevitably going to be a referendum on Donald Trump's first two years back in office.

Whatever voters are dissatisfied with, they'll chalk up to Trump and hold Republicans accountable for.

But Schumer's DHS extortion scheme is so brazen it just might backfire.

Presidents and CEOs of 10 major airlines and related industries and advocacy groups have put their names to an open letter calling on Congress to put a stop to this nonsense.

"TSA officers just received $0 paychecks. That is simply unacceptable. It's difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid," the letter notes.

"With spring break travel in full swing, FIFA World Cup 2026 right around the corner and celebrations for America's 250th birthday throughout the year," the industry expects "171 million passengers this spring season," many of whom are already "having to wait in extraordinarily long — and painfully slow — lines at checkpoints."

The letter warns of queues so long they take up to four hours to get through.

There's no reason for that, other than the will of Schumer and his Democratic colleagues.

The industry heads want a set of new laws to make sure airlines and cargo companies like FedEx and UPS can't be treated like a "political football amid another government shutdown" every time — legislation that would ensure the funding of air-traffic controllers, TSA screeners and other critical personnel in the event of future shutdowns.

But ending this partial shutdown doesn't have to wait on passing any new laws: Schumer can end it today.

If he chooses not to, keep Schumer and his colleague in mind next time you're waiting for hours in a TSA line.

The Senate Democrats did that to you because they wanted to make a point.

Come Nov. 3, you can make one, too.