President Donald Trump has claimed that the public is "lovering" his decision to deploy federal immigration agents to airports due to staffing shortages due to the partial government shutdown. The temporary staffing shortage has led to nearly 500 departures from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) since the shutdown began on Feb. 14, leading to security wait times exceeding four hours at some airports, the longest in the agency's 24-year history. The president praised ICE agents' physical capabilities and claimed that they are "much tougher, and harder, muscles than most" and "extremely intelligent" individuals. Despite this, the specifics of their roles at airports remain unclear as of a week into their deployment.