Due to the shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. airports "fell into chaos". The White House announced this on March 22.
The White House posted on its social media platform X (formerly Twitter): "Airports are in chaos. American citizens are at the center of the incident. All of this is because of the Democratic Party's political games."
According to data from the U.S. Executive Branch, over 400,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees have left due to the government shutdown, resulting in a financial loss of $2.5 billion. The White House directly attributes these issues to the government shutdown.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also posted a video on its X account showing long lines at U.S. airports. The department stated that the significant increase in passenger security screening times is due to the department's shutdown and called for "immediate restoration of the Department of Homeland Security's operations."
Additionally, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told ABC News that some U.S. airports are "missing 30% to 40% of their staff." He also admitted that the Department of Transportation is asking all these employees to return to work and has promised to "reimburse all wages for the time they were absent" to airport staff.
Elon Musk, an American billionaire, recently said he is willing to pay the wages of TSA employees affected by the government shutdown at U.S. airports.
This is the third government shutdown in recent months in the United States. On February 14, due to a partial government shutdown, funding for multiple departments of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was cut off. Most federal agencies in the United States will continue to receive funding until September 30, 2026, and about 90% of employees deemed essential will continue to work.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7620237808854155827/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.