Miles Parks

And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics Podcast.

So before we get into any of this, I just want to put out a little disclaimer that the state of play in this moment that we are talking could be totally different a few hours from now, because that has been pretty much how this week has played out.

It has been constant whiplash from, you know,

optimism about a deal to all sides being really far apart to talks picking up again and then floundering again.

This morning, we are hearing from top Senate Republicans that they have given Democrats their best and last offer.

Democrats have said they're seeing signs of progress right now.

But again, that is so different from where we were just last night when I left the Capitol.

when lawmakers were in a really foul mood.

I mean, even members of the Senate that are usually really cheerful when they answer questions from reporters seemed so incredibly frustrated.

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, something we often talk about is how long a shutdown lasts can depend a lot on how much members of the public are actually feeling it.

And we've certainly seen people at airports feeling it this week.

We also heard from the acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administration who testified in the House this week.

And she told lawmakers that airports are dealing with the highest wait times in TSA's history.

Absences of officers are topping 40% in some airports around the country.

And she also said that more than 480 officers have quit during the shutdown because, of course, they are going without pay.

And so, yeah, I think that will be a huge factor in determining the speed that Congress feels like they have to act on this.

Yeah, Democrats are asking for a host of changes to rein in the tactics of immigration enforcement officers.

Top among them are some lower hanging fruit that we have heard some openness to from the

body cameras.