DHS Shutdown Continues. Today is the seventh day of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, and there are several reasons why it may continue for some time. First, the U.S. Congress was in recess this week, and even though the White House is handling negotiations for the Republicans, the absence of lawmakers on Capitol Hill certainly isn’t conducive to dealmaking. Second, the parties reportedly remain far apart on compromise reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is the underlying cause of the shutdown. Finally, as the Buzz has previously discussed, agencies such as ICE, CBP, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are already largely funded. DHS agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are the most impacted. In the past, air travel disruptions resulting from a lack of TSA personnel have played a role in forcing the parties to reach a spending deal.
BLS Releases Union Membership Numbers. This week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its 2025 data on union membership rates. At the risk of dating ourselves, the numbers are a virtual carbon copy of the 2024 statistics. In 2025, the percentage...
Home Politics Top News Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung firmly refuted a statement in which Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, said Taiwan was part of China. Lin said March 8 that th...