Trump uses airport chaos as leverage in voter bill

US President Donald Trump said there should be no funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security until Democrats in Congress approve a bill that would require people registering to vote to provide proof of US citizenship.

A NewsNation reporter on X on Sunday quoted Trump as saying in an interview that Trump “doesn’t think there should be any deal on this until ‘Save America’ is approved.”

The bill requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration is called the Save America Act.

He currently lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome Democratic opposition in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats.

Trump also said he was prepared to deploy agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of DHS, at airports “no matter how long it takes,” according to NewsNation.

Trump said he would deploy ICE agents to secure airports until Democratic lawmakers agree to fund DHS.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff will miss their second full paycheck on Friday due to a partial government shutdown as lawmakers clash over DHS funding.

Many TSA officers called in sick as their paychecks dried up due to a shortage of security guards at major airports, disrupting travel.

“I don’t think there should be any agreement on this until Save America is approved,” Trump was quoted as saying.

Proponents of the bill argued it would help deter voter fraud.

Republicans repeated Trump’s baseless claim that large numbers of people in the country voted illegally in the US election.

Democrats and critics of the bill argued that the law could disenfranchise Americans who cannot easily access passports, birth certificates and other identification documents.