Sen. John Fetterman said Wednesday night that activist pressure within his own party is prolonging the partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, offering his observations from within the Democratic caucus for why the standoff has stretched into its sixth week.
Appearing on Fox News' "Hannity" on March. 25, the Pennsylvania Democrat said ongoing protests against the Trump administration—such as the "No Kings" rallies nationwide—have left some senators unwilling to vote to restore DHS funding. He said they "might be afraid to reopen" the government because demonstrators are pushing demands that he said were never achievable.
Fetterman called the shutdown "fundamentally wrong," adding that the dynamic is one he has opposed before.
The partial shutdown entered week six since most DHS funding lapsed on Feb. 13. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which operates under the DHS, has operated without pay throughout, generating lengthy airport delays.
"Here we are at the airport every week, I talked to countless TSA agents and they are all hurting," he said. "They are angry. They are frustrated. They're exhausted, too, what they've been put through."
He said TSA workers should be in the Democrats' "wheelhouse" because they are union government workers, but now the party was "refusing to give them a paycheck."
"So it's always wrong, regardless of the party doing it," he said of shutting down the government. "You can see the kind of chaos that's created across right now. [People are] selling their blood."
He added that the timing compounds the problem, with spring break travel and World Cup preparations now underway.
Senate Democrats submitted a counteroffer to Republicans on Wednesday centered on reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the central sticking point in the talks.
The offer includes requirements for judicial warrants before agents enter private property; restrictions on enforcement near schools, hospitals, churches, and polling places; and a mandate that ICE agents identify themselves by name, agency, and badge number.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the proposal a "reasonable, good faith" offer and accused Republicans of acting in bad faith after presenting a plan with no ICE reforms, despite verbally agreeing to some during weekend talks.
Republicans also want any deal to include the SAVE America Act, which would require photo identification for voting and proof of citizenship for voter registration—a provision Democrats have pledged to block.