Democrats, Republicans trade blame for US airport delays

Democrats and Republicans traded blame on Wednesday as major US airports continue to see hours-long security lines due to staffing shortages among Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents amid a prolonged Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.

"Senate Republicans have now blocked TSA funding 9 times. They are solely responsible for the chaos travelers are experiencing," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, lashed out at Democrats.

"Blame the Democrats for the Airport's mess. They want our Country to do badly. They want our Country to fail," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Democrats have called for reforms to immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis in January, but Republicans have repeatedly rejected their demands, resulting in a deadlock in negotiations.

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders could not name a single benefit from the Democrats' partial shutdown of the DHS.

Sanders said that Democrats are making a political point with the prolonged shutdown that ICE is "out of control," but could not name any specific thing that has been achieved.

The DHS funding expired on February 13. This has left the department's operations – including the TSA, the Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency – severely strained. 

Over the past few weeks, wait times at some major airports have significantly increased due to TSA staffing shortages, causing complaints and chaos.

(With input from Xinhua)