TRUMP THREATENS TO SEND NATIONAL GUARD TO AIRPORTS AMID PARTIAL SHUTDOWN

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- US President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy the National Guard to the country's airports if the Democrats refuse to agree on ending the partial government shutdown and halt their opposition to the adoption of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.

"We're gonna send in the National Guard if we need to … we have 6,000 ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents and we have 40,000 of the other people that they're helping out, some of whom were forced because the Democrats don't wanna pay them," Trump said on Wednesday, referring to employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) responsible for airport security.

The president accused Democrats, whom he labelled "radical left", of trying to regain control of the DHS in order to shut down the agency.

"They're doing this during a war … We're not supposed to be doing it, but we're gonna make America totally safe again very quickly with the largest drop," Trump said.

On Wednesday, the DHS blamed the Democrats for the departure of over 450 TSA employees amid the partial US government shutdown.

The partial shutdown of the DHS has been ongoing for over a month. The White House stated that the shutdown has already cost the US economy US$2.5 billion. Amid the disruptions at airports, Trump announced that he would deploy ICE agents to airports on March 23 to ensure security.

Meanwhile, the DHS budget remains a key point of contention in the Senate, with Democrats seeking stricter terms for ICE, while funding for other federal agencies has already been approved through September 30, 2026.

-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI