DHS shutdown tied for second-longest ever as Dems again block funding amid airport chaos, terrorism concerns

By Fox News · Fox News

Long airport lines and rising concerns about threats at home weren’t enough to stop Senate Democrats from blocking Homeland Security funding again Friday. It’s the fifth time Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Republicans have tried to reopen the agency. The latest failed attempt comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown hit its 35th day, tying it for the second-longest shutdown in history. As airport lines stretch for blocks and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents go without pay, and concerns about further attacks in the U.S. increase after two shootings last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus aren’t budging. DEM SENATORS CALL TO FUND DHS AFTER VOTING TO BLOCK IT 4 TIMES AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT They have tried several times to force votes on standalone funding bills for other portions of DHS that don’t involve immigration operations, including several attempts to pay TSA agents, which have been blocked. "Republicans are saying unless you pass ICE as is without reform, we're not going to help the TSA workers get paid and reduce the lines at the airport," Schumer said. Thune told Fox News Digital that Democrats have been beholden to their base and forced into a position to continue blocking government funding in a bid to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "The question is," Thune said, "[Are] any number of Democrats going to be willing to actually make a deal and have enough respect for the appropriations process and for the job that we have here to keep the government functioning, to step up and do what may be a hard thing, even though their base is, you know, screaming at them to do something else." DEMS UNMOVED AS WHITE HOUSE REVEALS DHS CONCESSIONS IN SHUTDOWN BATTLE Still, there was slight movement this week that could signal an off-ramp is forming. Democrats, after over two weeks of radio silence, sent the White House another counteroffer. The administration dubbed…