Leavitt, addressing journalists at a White House briefing, turned the heat on Democrats over the ongoing partial closure of the Department of Homeland Security – which has affected airport security staff.

“Democrats in Congress are forcing American travelers to wait in hours long lines at airports across the country, robbing [Transportation Security Administraton] officers and other federal workers of their hard-earned paychecks that they use to feed their families, and causing billions of dollars in damage to our economy,” she said.

She said nearly 500 TSA officers have quit since what she called “the Democrat shutdown” began.

On the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports, she added: “President Trump, to alleviate this pressure, made the decision to send some of our amazing ICE agents to help alleviate that stress and address the long wait times. And for all of the critics of this solution, a few days ago, when it was proposed by the president, it is yielding results. Wait times have improved since ICE arrived, and they are doing everything in their power to help their fellow federal service members.”