The partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has entered its 45th day, as the White House intensifies pressure on Congress to return from recess and resolve the funding standoff.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that Donald Trump is urging lawmakers to cut short their two-week break and immediately address the lapse in funding. Congress adjourned Friday and is not scheduled to return until April 13, even as disruptions continue to mount, writes The Daily Caller.
Leavitt told reporters that Trump has repeatedly called on Congress to act. “The president is also encouraging Congress to come back to Washington to permanently fix this problem and to fund and reopen the Department of Homeland Security entirely,” she said.
The funding impasse centers on disagreements over immigration enforcement. The Senate approved a measure last week to fund most DHS operations but withheld full funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and certain Customs and Border Protection activities. House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected the proposal as insufficient, a position shared by many House Republicans.
Democrats, for their part, had backed a partial funding plan earlier in February that included conditions on immigration enforcement, including limits on ICE operations. Those provisions followed a series of high-profile incidents involving enforcement actions earlier in the year.
As the stalemate drags on, operational strains have become increasingly visible. Airports have experienced staffing shortages, with hundreds of Transportation Security Administration officers reportedly resigning after working extended periods without pay. The administration moved last week to stabilize the situation, with Trump issuing an executive order directing that TSA personnel receive compensation during the funding lapse. ICE agents have also been reassigned to assist at major airports in an effort to ease disruptions.
Outside the administration, some conservative voices have called for more aggressive action. Glenn Beck said Monday that Trump should consider using executive authority to compel Congress to return, citing what he described as extraordinary circumstances.
The White House has framed the shutdown as the result of congressional inaction and partisan demands, while emphasizing that temporary measures are in place to blunt the impact on travelers and federal workers. Lawmakers from both parties, however, continue to trade blame as the recess continues, leaving no immediate resolution in sight.
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