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Senate Commerce Markup Recesses After Democratic Walkout Over DHS Funding
Summary
The Commerce Committee recessed its markup after many Democratic members walked out in a dispute tied to Department of Homeland Security funding; Republicans on the panel criticized the impacts on TSA and the Coast Guard and said the bills on the agenda were bipartisan.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation recessed its scheduled markup after a coordinated absence by many Democratic members tied to a broader dispute over Department of Homeland Security funding, the committee chair said.
The chair told the panel that Democrats had "decided to be utterly and completely dysfunctional" and argued the impasse left DHS employees unpaid and disrupted operations. "We now have 450 TSA agents who've been forced to quit," the chair said, adding that travelers faced "waiting lines of 2, 3, 4 hours or more at airports across the country." The chair instructed the clerk to hold his paycheck in solidarity with unpaid federal workers.
Sen. Wicker, who spoke after the chair, called the coordinated absence "a complete attempt to shut down the committee" and urged a compromise to restore pay and normal operations for DHS personnel. "This needs to end," he said, arguing the dispute was producing hardship among employees and families.
Several Republican members amplified operational concerns. Sen. Sullivan emphasized the Coast Guard — a service within this committee's oversight — and said members were serving overseas and domestically while pay was at risk: "To the brave men and women in the Coast Guard and their families, you should know that we are working every single day to get you paid." Sen. Moreno suggested affected workers consider legal remedies, saying, "To the 260,000 employees of DHS, sue the hell out of the Democrats today for not paying you."
Democratic members did not participate in the markup as scheduled; the chair said the committee would "take a recess and reconvene at a later time" and that the committee stood in recess "subject to the call of the chairman." No motions or votes were completed before the recess.
The committee's roster of bills — described by the chair as overwhelmingly bipartisan — included measures on product safety, online fentanyl access, mental‑health warning labels for social media, satellite security and a reauthorization of quantum research programs. Committee members said they intended to advance that business once the attendance dispute was resolved.
