Comer: ICE at airports will ‘drive Democrats crazy’

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) commended President Trump’s decision to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to airports across the country this week to manage airport staffing shortages resulting from a month-long partial government shutdown.

“I think it’s terrible what’s happening. I’m glad the president has put ICE in there for a multitude of reasons. That’ll drive the Democrats crazy,” Comer told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo on Monday. 

“But at the end of the day, somebody’s got to step up and ensure that our air travel continues or you’re going to see even further damage to our economy, which again, in my opinion is what the Democrats want,” the Kentucky Republican continued.

The Trump administration sent ICE officers to select airports starting on Monday to alleviate the rising numbers of Transportation and Security Officers (TSOs) who are refusing to work without pay amid the continuing government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

The Transportation Security Administration operates under DHS’s federal budget. 

Airport staffing shortages have resulted in long security lines at airports across the U.S. 

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport recommended travelers arrive four hours early on Monday to make their flights, while Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport said security lines were expected to “exceed four hours” on Tuesday. 

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told CNN on Sunday that ICE agents are there to provide “extra security” and allow TSOs to focus on more “specialized jobs,” like bag screening. 

The Senate failed again to pass a funding package to reopen the agency last week, with Democrats citing unfulfilled demands for changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is leading calls for the Trump administration to make several reforms to ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which both fall under DHS. 

The White House has refused during continuing negotiations to meet Democrats’ central demands, which include imposing a mask ban, judicial warrant reform and a universal code of conduct for ICE and CBP agents. 

Comer accused Democrats in Congress on Monday morning of continuing to “move the goalposts” to reopen DHS. 

“The truth of the matter is the Democrats want to disrupt the economy as much as they can because they know the number one issue in the election is the economy,” he said, referencing the upcoming Midterm elections. 

However, a deal to reopen the department may soon be on the horizon following a White House meeting on Monday evening. Senate Republicans told the Hill following the meeting that Trump expressed interest in backing a two-part deal to fund DHS.

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