Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has introduced legislation giving a 10% bonus to Transportation Security Administration employees during the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.
The bill applies to workers at TSA and other DHS departments who went without pay during the shutdown but continued reporting to work anyway once the Department reopened.
Because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is funded through 2029 through the "Big Beautiful Bill" (OBBBA), including their salaries, they are mostly ineligible.
"For weeks on end, TSA agents have been showing up and keeping our families safe," said Sen. Gallego in a press release, notably pointing fingers at Republicans by saying, "They're doing it without a paycheck as Republicans play politics with their livelihoods."
"They've blocked every effort to fund TSA and other DHS agencies, while ICE continues to get paid. These workers deserve to be recognized for their sacrifice," Sen. Gallego added.
The Arizona Democrats' comments come on the heels of Arizona Republicans arguing the opposite for several weeks.
For instance, Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) wrote on social media, "Democrats are willing to ruin your vacation, endanger your family, and destroy TSA agents' livelihoods, all to shield illegal immigrants from deportation." "They no longer answer to hardworking Americans. Only to their radical base. Every day, this twisted agenda puts America at greater risk," he added.
Most recently, Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ) suggested during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing that Democrats are "gaslighting" America about the DHS shutdown. "This is what happens in Washington," Rep. Crane declared, adding, "It is not really about truth or facts, it is about narrative, and who can get their narrative out."
Until a solution can be found, President Donald Trump has deployed ICE agents at several airports to cut down on the hours-long lines at TSA checkpoints, which only earned further condemnation from Democrats.
