Congresswoman McCollum: Speaker Johnson has Chosen to Allow Airport Crisis to Worsen

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Dean of the Minnesota Congressional delegation, issued the following statement on Friday:

"For 42 days, President Trump has allowed TSA agents to go without pay. No one should be surprised. The long lines, travel delays, and financial hardship Americans are experiencing never should have happened. Trump has always had the authority to pay TSA salaries from the $75 billion Department of Homeland Security slush fund which is currently paying ICE and Border Patrol agents to do enforcement activity.

"I'm calling on Speaker Johnson to allow the House to vote on the bipartisan legislation that unanimously passed the Senate early this morning. That bill will provide a full year of funding to pay our TSA agents. What it won't do is provide any more money for the illegal and harmful activities of ICE and Border Patrol agents.

"Let me be clear: I support the bipartisan Senate bill to fund TSA, FEMA, CISA, and the Coast Guard, but I will not vote for another dollar of funding for ICE or Border Security operations until their agents stop violating Americans' rights and adhere to the same standards our local law enforcement follow. Democrats will not stop fighting for policy changes to bring essential oversight and accountability to ICE and Border Patrol.

"I will not support Speaker Johnson's plan to extend the crisis we are seeing unfold across American airports. Speaker Johnson and House Republicans should bring the bipartisan funding bill for the rest of DHS to the floor now and stop the pain and suffering they are inflicting on federal workers and the American people."