Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey offered what some critics are calling head-scratching remarks Sunday, suggesting President Donald Trump could simply “hire out more TSA agents” amid long airport security lines — seemingly overlooking that a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown has left the agency without funding to pay existing staff, let alone hire new ones.
Frey made the comments on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” while criticizing Trump’s plan to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to major airports starting Monday.
“If the goal here was safety at airports, he could hire out more TSA agents that do an incredible job at keeping our airports safe,” said Frey.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says that Trump simply “could hire out more TSA agents” to replace the ones that aren't showing up for work because they're not getting paid.
Just stop and think about that for a second. pic.twitter.com/QEF4HtZ44N
— David Joe May (@TheGrayRider) March 22, 2026
The flaw in Frey’s now-viral statement was hard to miss: Trump cannot unilaterally hire additional TSA personnel without congressional appropriations — the very funding Democrats have withheld in a standoff over immigration enforcement policies.
The Senate on Friday once again failed to advance legislation to fund DHS, prolonging a shutdown that has disrupted air travel nationwide.
The measure fell short in a 47-37 vote, failing to reach the 60 votes required to proceed. Sixteen senators did not cast votes, and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania sided with Republicans.
The vote marked the fifth unsuccessful attempt since Feb. 12 to move forward a House-approved funding bill that would keep DHS operating through September. The agency has been partially shut down since Feb. 14.
Democrats have continued to withhold support, demanding changes to immigration enforcement policies as a condition for restoring full funding.
As a result, TSA officers have been working without pay, prompting more than 400 to quit, while many others have called in sick, with security lines at some major airports stretching for hours.
ICE to help TSA
Trump announced the ICE deployment Saturday, with border czar Tom Homan confirming agents would support TSA by handling tasks that do not require specialized screening training.
“If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on March 21.
The White House said the move is intended to ease travel disruptions during the busy spring travel season without replacing TSA screeners.
It remains unclear whether ICE support will extend to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
At MSP, reported wait times have remained manageable so far as major hubs like Atlanta have experienced significant delays.
Smooth morning at the Minneapolis-St. Paul (@mspairport) with wait times again under 5 minutes at Terminal 1.
No visible sign of ICE agents as has begun at other airports dealing with massive delays. pic.twitter.com/h6zuhLVCDZ
— Kyle Potter (@kpottermn) March 23, 2026
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
