By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press
The acting head of the Transportation Security Administration says it may have to shut down operations at some airports as travelers are experiencing record waiting times. In testimony Wednesday before a House committee, Ha Nguyen McNeill described the mounting hardships facing unpaid airport workers and warned of potential airport closures. Bills and eviction notices are piling up, and some workers are resorting to plasma donations to make ends meet. Her appearance on Capitol Hill comes as the latest offer to end a funding impasse and put restraints on President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda is running into fierce resistance. But there appears to be no end in sight on the 40th day of the stalemate involving the Department of Homeland Security.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says there's no imminent threat to the state from Iran. ABC News says the FBI warned California that Iran had aspired to send drones to the West Coast in retaliation for war. The FBI later released text of the alert, which noted that the information was based on "unverified information." The White House now says, "No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists." Newsom says California and various agencies plan for worst-case scenarios. Police in Los Angeles and San Francisco say they are monitoring world events for any risks.
Another shutdown for parts of the federal government is expected this weekend. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to expire Saturday as lawmakers debate new restrictions on President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agenda. The White House has been negotiating with the Democrats, but the two sides failed to reach a deal by the deadline. Unlike the record 43-day shutdown last fall, the closures will be narrowly confined, as only agencies that are part of Homeland Security will be affected. Still some federal workers could begin to miss paychecks and services like airport screening could be affected if the shutdown drags on for weeks.
By MARY CLARE JALONICK, KEVIN FREKING and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press
A shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security appears certain. Lawmakers in the House and Senate are set to leave Washington for a 10-day break, while negotiations with the White House over Democrats' demands for new restrictions have stalled. The White House and Democrats have traded offers in recent days. Democrats have said they want curbs on President Donald Trump's broad campaign of immigration enforcement. They've demanded better identification for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement officers, a new code of conduct for those agencies and more use of judicial warrants, among their requests.
By KEVIN FREKING, MARY CLARE JALONICK and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press
Homeland Security officials are highlighting the potential impact of a shutdown. Among the concerns are delayed reimbursements to states for disaster relief costs and missed paychecks for the agents that screen passengers and bags at the nation's airports. Congress has provided full-year funding for the vast majority of the federal government, but it only passed a short-term funding patch for the Department of Homeland Security that extends through Friday. Democrats have insisted that any funding bill for the department come with changes to immigration enforcement operations. But Republicans are emphasizing that a Homeland Security shutdown would not curtail the work of the agencies Democrats are most concerned about.
