Chuck Schumer blocked TSA funding five times while 50,000 agents worked without pay and your spring break flights turned into three-hour nightmares.
Trump's answer just got confirmed 54 to 45.
And just wait until you see who's walking through the door at DHS on March 31.
Markwayne Mullin Takes Over a DHS Shutdown Built by Democrats
The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as the new Secretary of Homeland Security Monday night, 54–45, with only Rand Paul breaking ranks from Republicans.
Two Democrats – John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico – crossed over to vote yes.
Mullin takes over a department that has been in a six-week death spiral entirely manufactured by Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats.
Funding for DHS lapsed February 14.
Since then, Democrats have voted five separate times to block a House-passed bill that would have paid TSA officers, funded the Coast Guard, and kept FEMA operational.
Every single time – Schumer's caucus killed it.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2035790102757073029?s=20
Meanwhile, 400 TSA officers quit their jobs.
Callout rates hit 55% at Houston Hobby on a single day in March.
Three-hour lines stretched from the security checkpoint through baggage claim all the way into the parking garage – at Hobby Airport – while families missed flights during spring break.
Democrats Caused the TSA Lines and Now ICE Is at the Airports
Here's what Schumer wants in exchange for paying the people keeping your airports safe: ICE officers must unmask during operations, refrain from entering neighborhoods near schools and churches, wear body cameras, and get a judge-signed warrant before entering any home.
Translation – Democrats want to make it harder to arrest criminals who entered the country illegally.
Speaker Mike Johnson said it plainly: Democrats are holding DHS "hostage in order to protect criminal illegal aliens."
That's not a talking point. That's the actual math.
DHS put it in writing: the shutdown has driven officers to quit and thousands more to call out because they cannot cover rent, gas, or childcare on a zero-dollar paycheck.
This is the third funding lapse in six months.
https://twitter.com/BillMelugin_/status/2036237773351559424?s=20
Democrats orchestrated the longest government shutdown in American history just last fall.
They learned exactly one lesson from that experience – do it again, harder.
Mullin Arrives Ready for a Fight
Mullin is a former MMA fighter, collegiate wrestler, and Oklahoma plumber who went to Congress and became one of Trump's most reliable allies.
He arrives at DHS with a reputation for not backing down from anyone – which is exactly what this moment requires.
Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, made his confidence clear: "I think he's the right guy, the right time and the right job."
Mullin's goal as Secretary is to get DHS off the front page – and the fastest way to do that is to end this shutdown on Trump's terms, not Schumer's.
At his confirmation hearing, Mullin signaled one key concession: agents will be required to use judge-signed warrants to enter homes except in rare circumstances.
That single move may be the bridge to a deal.
But Mullin isn't going to hand Democrats a victory that handcuffs ICE in the field.
And the White House confirmed it was waiting for Mullin's confirmation before resuming serious negotiations.
https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/2034286199628825054?s=20
That waiting period is now over.
Democrats Miscalculated and the DHS Funding Fight Just Shifted
Travelers stranded in three-hour lines at Atlanta, JFK, and Houston Hobby are not blaming Trump for the airport chaos – they're blaming the politicians who voted five times against paying TSA agents.
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff is already getting called out by name over airport intercom systems at Hartsfield-Jackson.
That's not a sign Democrats have the upper hand.
Every shutdown Democrats have engineered since January 2025 has ended with them getting less than they demanded.
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2036253935237820643?s=20
The 43-day record shutdown last fall ended with Democrats folding – and this one will follow the same arc.
Mullin has already telegraphed which concession Democrats will get, and it won't include letting ICE agents operate blind in the field.
Trump deployed ICE to the airports Monday morning.
Mullin takes over March 31.
Schumer's leverage just ran out – and 50,000 TSA agents are about to get paid.
Sources:
- DHS Office of Public Affairs, "Spring Break Under Siege: Democrats' Reckless DHS Shutdown," Department of Homeland Security, March 17, 2026.
- House Appropriations Committee Republicans, "Democrat DHS Shutdown Undermines Homeland Security at Critical Moment," House Appropriations Committee, March 2026.
- House Appropriations Committee Republicans, "Facing Reality: Democrats Ignore the Facts Heading into a DHS Shutdown," House Appropriations Committee, February 2026.
- Fox News Politics, "Mullin Faces Explosive DHS Hearing as Rand Paul Feud, Dem Skepticism Threaten Path," Fox News, March 18, 2026.
- Fox News Politics, "Dems Push to End Shutdown While Blocking GOP Bid to Reopen DHS," Fox News, March 2026.
