What happenedFormer senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) was sworn in as secretary ofthe Department of Homeland Security this week, as lawmakers struggled to reach a deal to end a weeks-long DHS shutdown that is causing chaos at major airports. But the partial government shutdown has left his department with no new funds since Feb. 14, and around 90% of the DHS workforce has been working without pay. At airports, thousands of unpaid TSA agents have called in sick, and nearly 500 have quit altogether. With waits at security lines topping three hours at some major hubs, President Trump ordered ICE to deploy its agents as extra hands—even though ICE agents are not trained to operate TSA X-ray scanners. Treating ICE funding separately would have robbed them of their ability to insist on reforms that “appeared to be quite popular,” including restrictions on agents wearing masks and raiding churches and schools.

Source: CNN March 30, 2026 20:07 UTC