Washington Journal Open Phones examines the 39-day DHS shutdown, where President Trump rejected funding restoration without voter ID and citizenship verification in his proposed Save America Act. While TSA call-out rates hit 42.3% at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and 41.5% at Hartsville-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, ICE deployed personnel to locations including Chicago and Phoenix. Simultaneously, lawmakers debate transportation bills addressing drone interference and supersonic flight, as callers clash over blame between illegal immigration, Republican intransigence, and Trump's fitness for office. Ultimately, the segment highlights deep partisan gridlock threatening critical government functions and airport security. [Automatically generated summary]
Federal boxing regulations, the first major update in 26 years.
Lawmakers will also debate several transportation-related bills, including bipartisan legislation requiring the FAA to study the effects of drone interference with wildfire aerial response.
Also on the agenda, a measure allowing civil supersonic flight operations in the U.S. Votes today are scheduled for 6:30 Eastern.
And later this week, the House plans to take up several bills to address the partial DHS shutdown now on its 39th day.
Watch live coverage of the U.S. House when lawmakers return here on C-SPAN.
The Hill talks about the TSA portion of the partial government shutdown, particularly when it comes to wait times at some of the nation's airports.
The Hill reporting that many of those largest ones reported higher call-out rates this past Sunday.
42.3% at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, 41.5% at Hartsville-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, 39.1% at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, 38% at Baltimore, Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, 37.4% at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and at Pittsburgh International Airport, 24.2%, and 21.7% at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
And those are the call-out portions when it comes to those TSA workers.
When it comes to ICE being deployed, which you've seen in the headlines, the Washington Post takes a look at some of the places where they'll be focused.
Representatives for airports, the Washington Post reports, in Atlanta, Cleveland, Newark, New Orleans, New York, Fort Myers, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico in Phoenix confirmed that ICE officers would be on site Monday at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport and the William Hobby Airport, both in Houston, had some officers.
And Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said about 75 ICE personnel were at O'Hare International Airport, saying the officers would monitor exit lanes, make passenger announcements, and assist with managing lines.
That's the ICE portion.
When it comes to getting the government reopen, or at least this partial government shutdown done, the president himself rejecting recent offers to restore funding to partial to ICE.
This is the headline from the Wall Street Journal this morning.
The president rejecting those exit ramps and pass over TSA spending.
He elaborated on some of these themes during a visit to Memphis, Tennessee yesterday and spoke about the partial government shutdown.
Here's a portion of what he had to say.
And I'm suggesting strongly to the Republican Party: don't make any deal on anything.
The most important thing we can have is what's called the Save America Act.
Don't make any deal on anything unless you include voter ID and you have to be a citizen to vote.
You have to show citizenship to vote.
Very easy to do.
It's very insulting when they say people can't do it because they don't know how to do it.
Anybody that can't do it, I think it's a very insulting thing to say.
The Democrats are fully to blame with the struggle the great American public is going through at the airports.
They're going through a big struggle right now and we just put ICE in charge and they're helping TSA, the agents, and they're working together so far very well.
I actually suggested that in the airports they take off their masks and they did that.
In the airports, I'm a big believer in the mask because we have, you know, Biden allowed hundreds of thousands of killers into our country.
We're rapidly getting them out, by the way.
But they would go after these people if they knew exactly who they were.
But in the airports, it's different.
I didn't love the look in the airport as you get off the plane.
So I made a request and they agreed to it.
So they're not going to be doing that.
We will also bring out, if we don't have enough, we will bring out the National Guard where we need it to help out at the airports.
But we're not going to let this happen.
It's extortion by the Democrats.
They're holding up money that's already been approved.
And now they're willing to go $5 billion reduction in ICE in order to get the approval or the deal that they approved, the Great Big Beautiful deal, which is the biggest tax cut in history, the biggest regulation cut in history.
They want to basically renegotiate a deal that they already approved.
And they're doing it for largely for a criminal element.
So also the Democrats are putting our country at great risk during this period of time, a period that they call a war.
They call it a war.
We call it a military operation.
Some of the president's comments from Memphis yesterday about the partial government shutdown.
He referencing the Transportation Safety Administration.
We want to ask you about what you think of which party is to blame for this continued shutdown.
Again, the numbers 202-748-8,000 for Democrats, Republicans, 202-748-8001, and Independents 202-748-8002.
If you are a recent airport traveler, give us your thoughts at 202-748-8003.
And you can use that same line to text us those thoughts as well.
But when it comes to the party to blame, Mustafa in Philadelphia, Republican line, you're up first.
Which party do you think?
So I would say that the DHS shutdown was like, you know, not like necessary because, you know, I've been paying attention.
Mustafa, go ahead.
Is my voice clear?
Yeah, go ahead.
Which party do you think is to blame?
I believe it's the illegal aliens for the blame for this shutdown.
Okay, let's go to Barbara.
Barbara in Georgia, Democrats line.
You're next up.
It's definitely the Republicans because they won't negotiate with the Democrats at all, just like this war.
Now then, now we're in a war.
Why?
Because that's what President Trump wanted.
And think about America going bankrupt because he's well on his way to us going bankrupt.
Well, sticking to the shutdown, why do you think it's what portions do you think are important to negotiate and why do you think that's important?
Well, the shutdown, I hope they continue to shut it down because the Republicans won't negotiate with them.
I believe they could work together a lot better than what they're doing right now.
Trump don't want to work with anybody except the Republicans.
If you're a Republican, yes, he'll work with you.
But if you're a Democrat, no, he is not going to negotiate with the Democrats.
Okay.
William in Ohio, Independent line on who's to blame when it comes to this partial shutdown.
Go ahead.
Good morning, Bedro.
I think the biggest blame goes on Trump and the Republican Party.
Mainly Trump, though.
The man's an idiot all the way.
I mean, he's the one who won't make a deal with nobody for nothing.
Well, when it comes specifically to the shutdown, why do you think he's to blame?
Because of everything he does.
Now he wants to vote the right act and everything else before he'll pass anything, he says.
Come on, he's trying to take voting rights away from everybody.
The man's an idiot, I swear.
He's making me mad all the time.
The man just ain't fit to be president, you know.
If he wants to start something, he's going to start it.
You know he is.
But I'm still saying Republican Party.
motion of the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Taylor, to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 6422 as amended, on which the yeas and nays are ordered.