Officials from the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency will testify before the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday morning to outline impacts of the partial government shutdown that has left the Department of Homeland Security without funding for more than a month.
The hearing, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT, comes as lawmakers continue to fight over the terms to reopen the department. Democrats have been pressing for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics as a condition for providing funding, while Republicans have offered proposals to fund non-immigration related agencies separately.
What the Right Is Saying
Republicans have criticized Democrats for holding critical homeland security funding hostage over immigration policy disputes. House Republicans and the Trump administration have argued that DHS must be fully funded to ensure border security, aviation safety, and disaster response capabilities are not compromised.
Former Senate Republican Markwayne Mullin, who was sworn in by President Trump on Tuesday to replace Kristi Noem as DHS secretary, has called for immediate funding restoration. Republicans have proposed multiple bills to fund non-immigration functions within DHS, arguing that aviation security and emergency management should not be held hostage to broader immigration negotiations.
What the Left Is Saying
Democrats and progressive advocacy groups have argued that any funding bill must include significant changes to ICE enforcement practices. Progressive lawmakers have called for limiting detention capacity, requiring better oversight of immigration enforcement actions, and implementing stronger safeguards for asylum seekers.
Senate Democrats have repeatedly blocked short-term funding measures that do not address their ICE reform demands. Organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union and immigrant rights groups have supported this position, arguing that funding DHS without reforms would enable continued abuses at detention facilities and during enforcement operations.
What the Numbers Show
The partial shutdown has lasted more than 30 days, making it one of the longer funding gaps affecting homeland security in recent years. TSA has experienced callouts and resignations among screening officers, contributing to longer wait times at airport security checkpoints across the country.
The Trump administration deployed ICE officials to assist at airports, though administration officials acknowledged it is unlikely to make a major difference in reducing wait times. The deployment was an unusual step, as ICE officers do not typically perform passenger screening functions.
The Bottom Line
The hearing will provide a public forum for agency officials to detail operational impacts of the prolonged funding gap. TSA and FEMA leadership are expected to describe specific challenges in maintaining security screening and disaster response capabilities without appropriated funds. Lawmakers will use the testimony to bolster their respective positions as negotiations continue over conditions for reopening DHS. The outcome of these hearings could influence whether both sides find common ground on a funding measure that addresses Democratic concerns about ICE while restoring full operations at the department.