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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is once again breaking ranks with his party, slamming his colleagues over the ongoing partial government shutdown.
Lawmakers have remained at a standstill over funding for the Department of Homeland Security since mid-February. Fetterman said he opposes the shutdown and refuses to be part of the "mess" it's created.
"I refuse to always vote to shut our government down, and I would never be a part of this mess," Fetterman said Tuesday on "America's Newsroom."
He noted that he has been frequently speaking with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents who say they are suffering without a paycheck. TSA staffers missed their first full paycheck earlier in March.
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Democrats have refused to support DHS funding bills without reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Instead, they've proposed a series of carve-outs to fund specific branches of DHS, including the TSA, a strategy Republicans have rejected.
"They earn, average, about $50,000 a year," said Fetterman of TSA agents. "They rely on their paychecks. Now, even not being paid, they have to face those crowds."
The shutdown has led to long lines at airports across the country, including hubs in New York, New Jersey, Atlanta and Houston. The lack of pay has led many agents to call out as some find temporary work elsewhere.
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Fetterman called for an immediate end to the shutdown, arguing that the American public is suffering.
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"I just can't imagine why we want to continue these things. Just like the last shutdown, the only people that [lose] are the workers and America," he said.
In response to the long lines at airports, President Donald Trump announced that ICE agents would be deployed to help ease the staffing shortage.
Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, "On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job despite the fact that the Radical Left Democrats, who are only focused on protecting hard line criminals who have entered our Country illegally, are endangering the USA by holding back the money that was long ago agreed to with signed and sealed contracts, and all."
He added that ICE agents working in airports should do so without masks, which some critics have opposed during immigration raids.
