US Politics Heats Up as Trump Threatens to Deploy National Guard

US President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy the National Guard to airports if the Democratic Party refuses to end the partial government shutdown. “We will deploy the National Guard if necessary. We have 6,000 ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents and 40,000 others assisting, some of whom are even forced (to work) because Democrats refuse to pay them,” Trump said on Wednesday (25/3). He referred to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers responsible for airport security. Trump accused Democrats, whom he called the “radical left wing”, of trying to regain control of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to halt its operations. “They (Democrats) are doing this in the middle of a war … We shouldn’t do this, but we will make America truly safe again very quickly with the biggest drop (in security threats),” he said. On Wednesday, DHS blamed the Democratic Party for the departure of more than 450 TSA officers amid the partial shutdown. The partial shutdown of DHS activities has lasted more than a month. The White House stated that the situation has cost the US economy $2.5 billion (approximately Rp42.3 trillion). Amid operational disruptions at airports, Trump said he would deploy ICE agents on 23 March to ensure security there. Meanwhile, the DHS budget remains the main point of contention in the Senate. The Democratic Party wants stricter requirements for ICE, while funding for other federal agencies has been approved until 30 September.