Passengers wait in line for a Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Nov. 26, 2025. (Patrick T. Fallon – AFP / Getty Images)
By Michael Austin March 15, 2026 at 5:41pm
Airport security wait times are climbing across the country as Congress neglects to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
The agency is placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Democrats.
The official X account for DHS posted a video on Sunday noting that there are now “SECURITY LINES OUT THE DOOR.”
The footage showed travelers at an unnamed airport queuing for Transportation Security Administration screenings in lines so long that they stretch into the parking garage.
“Americans are now missing their flights because of the Democrats shutdown of DHS,” the agency said.
“Their political stunt is forcing patriotic TSA officers to work without pay — leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages,” the post continued.
Enough is enough.
The Democrat shutdown of DHS must end! https://t.co/AQULDHfWG3
— TSA (@TSA) March 8, 2026
“Enough is enough: Democrats must fund DHS NOW.”
The TSA shared the post and signaled agreement.
“Enough is enough,” the TSA remarked. “The Democrat shutdown of DHS must end!”
DHS and the TSA were not the only entities blaming Democrats for the long lines at airports, which in some cases have reached wait times of three hours, according to a report from Fox News.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, contended that Democrats have been refusing to compromise on DHS funding.
It’s been three weeks and counting on Democrats’ second shutdown this fiscal year alone.
Tens of thousands of DHS employees are going without pay, and critical DHS priorities are going unfunded.
Will this be the week that Democrats actually get serious? pic.twitter.com/6K4u2xAmy4
— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) March 9, 2026
“Democrats keep telling us that they’re serious about funding this agency,” Thune said Monday on the Senate floor, per a release from his office.
“But their actions speak louder than their words. Negotiations have been going now for well over a month,” he continued, asserting that the two offers from the Democrats were “basically the same.”
“And if Democrats were really serious about taking action on this issue, they’d be working overtime to arrive at a compromise,” Thune added.
“But they’re not. They don’t even want to sit down.”
Michael wrote for several entertainment news outlets before joining The Western Journal in 2020. He now serves as Managing Editor, which involves managing the editorial team and operations; guiding the editorial direction of The Western Journal; and writing, editing, curating and assigning stories as needed.
Birthplace
Ames, Iowa
Nationality
American
Education
Iowa State University
Topics of Expertise
Cultural Politics, Entertainment News, Christian-Conservatism
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