Nearly 500 airport security staff quit as DHS shutdown hits nearly six weeks with no end in sight – US politics live

Karoline Leavitt pushes back on earlier report that Trump was considering bypassing Congress in order to pay TSA staff without a DHS funding deal

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We are awaiting the start of Donald Trump’s latest cabinet meeting, which was due to start at 10am eastern time. This will be the 11th such session Trump has staged since re-entering the White House in January last year. Previous meetings have been open and freewheeling – as well as newsworthy.

The Pentagon is preparing plans for a “final blow” in the war with Iran that could include deploying ground troops and a massive bombing campaign, Axios reports, citing four sources – including two US officials.