WASHINGTON – A federal agency critical to air travel and disaster relief is mired in a funding crisis − and there's no immediate end in sight.
Lawmakers recessed from Capitol Hill on Feb. 13 just before a partial government shutdown reached the Department of Homeland Security. Influential senators jetted off to Munich, Germany, for a security conference. Some were still overseas for Presidents Day, while other lawmakers went back to their home districts.
With members of Congress still peppering the country and globe, the likelihood of bringing a swift resolution to the funding impasse is low. Since federal immigration enforcement officers killed Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in two separate incidents in Minneapolis in January, Democrats have been demanding that the White House and congressional Republicans accede to a list of reforms for DHS.
More: Why ICE won't cease operations even if Homeland Security shuts down
"Just look at every police department across the country. They don't walk around in masks," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said on CNN on Feb. 15. "They don't walk around unidentified."
