Lawmakers stare down even longer DHS shutdown as TSA pressure lifts — for now

The record-setting shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is hurtling along with no end in sight and no discernable pressure point to hasten its conclusion.

Congress frequently needs an outside nudge to break stubborn political logjams. And, as in past battles over DHS funding, the recent turmoil at the nation’s airports — triggered by a pay freeze for security screeners — has infuriated travelers, led the nightly news, and created an enormous inducement for lawmakers in both parties to set aside their differences and cut a deal to reopen the agency.

But President Trump’s extraordinary decision to shift money to begin paying agents of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was the political equivalent of letting the air out of the tires, halting progress on an elusive bipartisan deal by alleviating the most urgent and outward-facing problem stemming from the shutdown — just as Congress appeared set to reopen DHS ahead of the long spring recess.

Instead, the House and Senate passed wildly divergent bills and then left Washington without any effort to resolve the differences. When Congress returns the week of April 13, an imminent deadline for reauthorizing the government’s warrantless spying powers may consume the oxygen in the Capitol — and delay a DHS breakthrough even further.

The stunning development has highlighted stark divisions between GOP leaders in the House and Senate, while putting Republicans and Democrats as far apart as they’ve been since the clash over immigration enforcement began in January. It’s also raised new questions about what political force might emerge to compel a deal between the parties, both of which are facing heat from their respective base voters to dig in for the long fight.

“The standoff is not done yet,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said dryly this weekend on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program.

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