Long lines and wait times are plaguing airports across the U.S. as TSA agents continue to work without pay due to a partial Homeland Security shutdown led by Democrats.
The agents haven't received pay for five weeks, prompting President Donald Trump to send in personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to help break the gridlock.
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) said Sunday on Fox News Channel's "The Sunday Briefing" that Congress would have likely already solved the problem if its livelihood were on the line.
"I believe if Congress wasn't getting a paycheck right now, they would be much more eager to find a solution about this," Britt said.
She cited a bill by U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La), the No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act, which would withhold lawmakers' salaries without back pay, according to the Washington Examiner.
Britt continued, "John Kennedy has a bill, and it says that if we don't do our job and that people aren't getting paid in the government that have stepped up to serve the United States government, then Congress shouldn't get a paycheck either. I firmly support that, and I think if that moved through the Senate and the House, that ultimately people would be much more eager to find a resolution, and I am all for it."
Britt slammed "far left" Democrats for forcing the shutdown in an attempt to hamper the Trump administration's ICE operations.
"The far left has taken over the driver's seat in the Democratic Party," she said. "... We're not going back to defund the police, we're not going back to Biden's failed open border policies. That's ultimately what many of my Democratic colleagues and people in the Democratic Party have said, that this is really about defunding ICE. That's what they're getting at. I hope that common sense will prevail, that we will pay every person that raised their hand in the Department of Homeland Security to say that we want to keep our homeland and the American people safe, and that we will find a pathway forward. I believe a pathway is there, but not if people won't have conversations."
To connect with the story's author or comment, email [email protected] or find him on X and Facebook.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
