Michael Barbaro

480 TSA workers leaving could turn into a lot more than that.

And the number of people calling out could reach astronomical percentages of the folks at various airports.

O'Karn, thank you very much.

We appreciate it.

After the break, congressional correspondent Michael Gold on whether or not it looks like Congress can come to an agreement to end this crisis.

We'll be right back.

You are on Capitol Hill.

I am.

Yes, I'm on Capitol Hill, a likely place for me to be.

a congressional reporter in Congress.

Well, you're actually there covering the negotiations trying to end this crisis at America's airports, which I have to imagine are quite complicated because the shutdown at the center of this entire ordeal wasn't about airports.

It was about reforming ICE, as we talked about with Karin.

But now it's become about airports.

So everyone's political incentives, I have to imagine, on both sides of the aisle are not really the same here.

Okay, well, what does that actually mean for snails-paced negotiations that achieved seemingly nothing over the past six weeks to suddenly pick up steam?

What have you learned?

Basically, I'm willing to give some ground to the Democrats on the big animating issues behind this shutdown.

Right, which you were on the show talking about, I think, a week or so ago, and which has, we should say, nothing to do with the DHS shutdown or TSA lines or ICE.

I just want to zero in on what the proposed deal from Republicans would mean if Democrats decide to get behind it.

And it's not certain that they will, but let's just presume for a minute that ultimately the pain of the airport situation gets to be such that they do.