Air travelers have been facing long security lines at airports as TSA agents go unpaid amid a Department of Homeland Security funding lapse.
—
Coverage for this event has ended.
17 hours agoPinned
Lindsey Graham accuses Democrats of ‘driving the country off a cliff’ in funding fight
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., blasted Democrats for “driving the country off a cliff” as a Department of Homeland Security funding standoff drags into its 40th day.
Graham told reporters Democratic lawmakers “pulled out” of a deal two days ago, warning “this needs to end.”
“This can’t be normal,” Graham said. “You can’t expect people like me, and others, to go solve problems and you create a new problem for us. What they just did is they pulled out of the deal they negotiated. … I don’t know what’s driving this train, I don’t know who’s driving this train, but they’re driving the country off a cliff here. I try to work across party lines when it makes sense.”
He added he believes the country is at “high risk.”
“I have never been more worried about the consequences of this continuing, not only for the inconvenience of the public, which is real and enormous, but for those who are working without pay,” Graham said.
17 hours ago
White House thanks Elon Musk for ‘generous offer’ to fund TSA salaries, pressures Dems for deal
The White House said Wednesday it “greatly appreciates” billionaire Elon Musk’s offer to pay TSA workers during the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, but put the pressure back on Democratic lawmakers to come to an agreement.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News on Wednesday the Trump administration “greatly appreciate[s] Elon’s generous offer,” but noted there could be conflicts of interest.
“This would pose great legal challenges due to his involvement with federal government contracts,” Jackson said. “The fastest way to ensure TSA employees — and all DHS employees — get paid is for Democrats to fund the Department of Homeland Security.”
The White House’s comments come after Musk made a post on X earlier this week announcing he “would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country.”
Fox News’ Pat Ward contributed to this report.
17 hours ago
Dems block DHS funding after GOP rejects their counter
Senate Democrats blocked a last-minute attempt by Republicans to end the Homeland Security shutdown after the GOP rejected their “unserious” counteroffer.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., forced a vote on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill after swiftly killing Democrats’ offer earlier Wednesday afternoon. He accused their latest counter as “not even close to being real.”
“They know better,” Thune said. “They’re asking for things that have already been turned down. So it just seems like they’re going in circles.”
The spur-of-the-moment test vote on Wednesday was designed to see whether Republicans could splinter any support from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats’ unified front to support their own framework to reopen the agency, which Democrats already rejected on Tuesday.
But like the five times prior, the latest attempt was blocked by nearly every Senate Democrat.
Read the full story by Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller here.
18 hours ago
Security wait times drop below 10 minutes at some major airports, others remain high
While wait times for security checkpoints span hours at some U.S. airports, others are reporting travelers can make it through the line in less than 15 minutes.
Unlike the long wait at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is reporting 10-minute waits at most of its checkpoints, with a sole checkpoint at an 11-minute wait.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport in Illinois, Harry Reid International Airport in Nevada, Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, and Miami International Airport in Florida are reporting their security lines are moving at a similar pace.
Los Angeles International Airport in California, Denver International Airport in Colorado, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington are reporting a less than a 5-minute wait at their general and TSA PreCheck checkpoints, while Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah is reporting no wait.
Other major airports, including Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, are reporting wait times of more than an hour.
19 hours ago
Senior House Republican says it will take ‘more shootings,’ longer lines to end DHS funding impasse
A senior House Republican told Fox News on Wednesday it will take “a couple more shootings or the [TSA security] lines to get even longer,” to end debate over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding.
The comments came days after Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student, was fatally shot in the head while walking with her friends near campus.
A Venezuelan illegal immigrant is charged with murder in connection to Gorman’s death.
Other high-profile killings, allegedly carried out by illegal immigrants from Venezuela, include the cases of Laken Riley, 22, who was killed in Georgia in 2024, and Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, who was killed and sexually assaulted in Texas in 2024.
Nearly 500 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have quit since the beginning of the DHS shutdown, prompting a staffing emergency at major U.S. airports.
The DHS funding lapse has dragged into its 40th day.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
19 hours ago
Medical emergencies reported in long TSA lines at Houston airport
Fox News witnessed multiple medical emergencies involving airline passengers waiting in long TSA security lines Wednesday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, amid the ongoing staffing shortage triggered by the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
Fox News’ Brooke Taylor said one of the incidents involved a young woman, and a subsequent emergency involved a 73-year-old man who allegedly passed out.
At first, the man said he thought he was having a heart attack, according to Taylor.
Responding medics said they believe the fainting spell could have been caused by heat exhaustion, and called an ambulance for additional support.
The wait time in the Houston terminal is currently two hours.
Employees have been passing out water bottles to those waiting in line throughout the day.
19 hours ago
Mike Johnson signals lawmakers could go home amid DHS funding standoff
House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News’ Chad Pergram on Wednesday that lawmakers may return home at the end of the week if a deal is not reached regarding Department of Homeland Security funding.
When asked if the speaker planned to send lawmakers home and call them back if a deal is reached, Johnson said “as soon as the Senate acts, we’ll be ready to act.”
“The House can sit around here and wait upon the Senate, or they can go home and work in their districts and be summoned right back,” Johnson said. “As soon as the Senate acts, we’ll be ready to act. I have a 72-hour notice to get everybody back. We’re greatly frustrated by it, as you know.”
Johnson added he plans on speaking to President Donald Trump Wednesday afternoon about a potential agreement reached in the Senate, but the pair have not yet discussed it.
20 hours ago
Travelers describe hourslong TSA lines at major airport amid staffing shortages
Travelers making their way through the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday morning told Fox News they waited in TSA lines for hours amid staffing shortages spurred by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.
Kenneth Haney, a recently retired United Airlines pilot, said he arrived six hours early for his flight to Raleigh, North Carolina.
“I just retired a year and a half ago and I’ve never seen it like this before, even as a pilot,” Haney said. “Our politicians: Get yourself together and do the work of the people that we put you in office to do, and stop bickering and come together for the American people and help us alleviate these unnecessary long lines.”
Haney said he is hoping lawmakers come to a bipartisan solution, noting he “feels for the TSA agents.”
“They’ve been working and not getting paid,” he said. “They have families like everybody else. They have bills to pay and nobody wants to work free. That’s not what the economy is built on.”
Priscilla Craft, who was traveling to Dulles International Airport in Vir
