President Donald Trump floated the idea of deploying the National Guard on Monday in an effort to address the mounting chaos at airports nationwide amid the ongoing partial government shutdown.
Airports have been plagued with increasingly long lines due to the partial government shutdown, which began last month after Democratic lawmakers refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security without reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Trump moved ICE agents into airports on Monday, and later on the same day he floated sending in the National Guard as well.
“The Democrats are fully to blame with the struggle the great American public is going through at the airports! They're going through a big struggle right now and we just put ICE in charge, and they're helping [Transportation Security Administration] (TSA) and they're working together so far very well,” Trump said while speaking at an event in Memphis, Tennessee.
“If we don't have enough, we will bring out the National Guard where we need it to help out at the airports. But we're not going to let this happen – it's extortion by the Democrats, they're holding up money that's already been approved!”
Despite Trump’s claim that the Democrats were “fully to blame” for DHS’ lapse in funding, a report from Punchbowl News on Monday revealed that the president had personally rejected an offer presented to him by Republican Senate leadership to fund all agencies under DHS, including TSA, except for ICE.Trump says he may deploy the National Guard to assist ICE at airports nationwide
"If we don't have enough, we will bring out the National Guard where we need it to help out at the airports" pic.twitter.com/fYiCqarGSX
— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) March 23, 2026