Texas lawmakers spar over DHS funding as long lines loom at US airports

<p>John Cornyn and Greg Casar debate TSA agent pay outside Austin airport as partial shutdown enters second month</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/feb/17/sign-up-for-the-breaking-news-us-email-to-get-newsletter-alerts-direct-to-your-inbox?utm_medium=ACQUISITIONS_STANDFIRST&amp;utm_campaign=BN22326&amp;utm_content=signup&amp;utm_term=standfirst&amp;utm_source=GUARDIAN_WEB">Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox</a></p></li></ul><p>Republican senator John Cornyn and Democratic congressman Greg Casar of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/texas">Texas</a> squabbled outside <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/austin">Austin</a>’s international airport on Monday over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as the shutdown of the agency enters its second month.</p><p>Cornyn, the longtime Texas senator who is locked in a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/03/texas-republicans-senate-john-cornyn-ken-paxton">tough primary battle</a> against attorney general Ken Paxton, went to Austin-Bergstrom international airport to bring Transportation Security Administration (TSA) <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/13/tsa-workers-pay-shutdown">employees</a> lunch. As he pulled up outside the terminal, he encountered Casar, whose district includes Austin and whom a spokesperson said was there to catch a flight back to Washington DC.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/16/dhs-shutdown-funding-debate-airport-delays-texas">Continue reading...</a>

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