Tipsheet

The Democrat DHS Shutdown Has Hit 30 Days, and It Has Been an Unmitigated Disaster

Joseph Chalfant
Joseph Chalfant  |  March 16, 2026 7:00 PM

Democrats in Congress have now kept the Department of Homeland Security shuttered for 30 straight days, and in that time we have seen four Islamic terror attacks, countless threats against universities, military installations, and airports, and an unprecedented delay at TSA checkpoints. 

On Monday morning, the security line at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport stretched out the door to what seemed to be the length of the terminal by 4:30 in the morning. Domestic travelers were advised to get to the airport two and a half hours early. By 5:30, the line extended past the sidewalk for the facility.

The story of lengthy lines isn’t limited to Austin. Across the country, major air travel hubs have been inundated with a swarm of Spring Break travelers. Estimates put the number of travelers at 170 million. TSA reported that many were experiencing over a three hour wait for security. More than 300 of their officers have left the job, and the remainder continue to work without pay. The situation has gotten so out of hand that even CNN has labeled it as an “impending disaster.”

And a major inconvenience at the airport is the smallest of the problems that have arisen. In a matter of weeks, we have had four Islamic terror attacks thrust upon us. Those attacks haven’t been limited to a singular region of the country, either. In Texas, New York, Virginia, and Michigan, jihadists have taken up arms against students and bar patrons, thrown bombs at anti-Islam protestors, and plowed an explosives-laden vehicle through an early childhood center. Only after these attacks have Democrats felt any sort of pressure to reopen DHS.

How many more Islamic terrorists need to wreak havoc upon our communities before Democrats will say that enough is enough? How many missed flights for someone visiting a sick relative, the birth of a grandchild, or a wedding need to happen before they stop holding the government hostage? How long must the families of government workers go without pay until Democrats understand that their political stunt has real world consequences?

The pretense for the Democrat shutdown is to keep funds out of the hands of immigration authorities, despite the fact that ICE is funded through 2029, so these leftist radicals are taking the “principled stand” of siding with illegal immigrants over their own citizens.

In that case, I guess they are working to the benefit of their voters.