SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2026 -- In the fairer world--fair being a very arbitrary term--I'd write about American Airlines' collapse this past week or how to deal with increasingly guest-repellant hotels or even how to upgrade your travel gear. These are, in fact, columns sitting on my desktop at this very moment.

But, no, we have to write about travel and politics and there is nothing duller than that. Or, honestly, inflammatory because one side or the other always is convinced that I'm an agent of the devil. And I have to remind you that I cover politics because there is nothing more political than travel.

So here we go. Consider this another dose of unpleasant medicine on the road.

WHAT IF THE "SHORT" SHUTDOWN ISN'T SHORT?
The federal government shut down again in the early hours of Saturday morning, but Washington pols insist this one will be short. The Senate passed a slimmed-down funding package on Friday and the House will take it up on Monday evening. Both sides claim they are on the same page.

But what if they're not? Then, frankly, we're back to the Twilight Zone just a couple months after last year's nearly two-month-long fiasco. Here's how the politics might play out on the travel front:
        TSA Agents are required to continue working, but they will not be paid during the shutdown. If the history of government shutdowns is any guide, expect higher-than-average absentees and unhappy and stressed agents at security checkpoints. Worst case: PreCheck lines close or their hours curtailed because an agent shortage requires the TSA to move available employees to general security lines. The counterpoint: The Trump Administration paid a substantial "bonus" to many agents who didn't miss a shift during last year's shutdown. That might keep them working--assuming they can afford to miss the paychecks.
        Air Traffic Controllers must continue on-duty, too. But controllers traditionally are even more unhappy than TSA agents when they aren't being paid. Call-outs could skyrocket. But, again, the same counterpoint: Lots of controllers received $10,000 post-shutdown bonuses for staying on the job. That could keep more of them in the towers this time.
        Flight Cuts To avoid a PR fiasco and to keep aircraft moving at major airports last year, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy ordered airlines to slash flight schedules. If we reach that point again, remember the pattern: Carriers cut regional-jet operations first (and almost exclusively). International flights were untouched because cuts there would have involved messy treaty issues. Plan accordingly.
        Security Bypass Credentials--think PreCheck and Global Entry renewals--will stall because paperwork won't be processed. That's because back-of-the-house employees at TSA and Customs will be home while customer-facing agents keep working.
        Passport Processing has been running miraculously well in recent months and that's because independently funded agencies aren't affected by shutdowns. (The Passport Office is funded by user fees.) Still, the Trump Administration has shifted available funds to bankroll its own priorities during a shutdown, so nothing is guaranteed.

THE ICE AGE ON THE ROAD
The Senate was able to pass a five-bill package Friday after Republicans (and, apparently, the White House) agreed to Democratic demands to defer the fight over Homeland Security appropriations. The issue there? ICE and CBP activity in Minnesota.

Bob McGarvey offers a deep dive on the lodging issues surrounding ICE's Minneapolis deployment. It is worthy reading. But I come at it from a slightly different--and much simpler--angle: Don't lie to me.

Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, has been lying about this stuff from the beginning. Take the notorious January 5 tweet claiming that Hilton Hotels had launched a "coordinated campaign" to refuse rooms to ICE and CBP agents. It also claimed Hilton was "siding with murderers and rapists."

Those are lies. It wasn't a coordinated Hilton campaign. It wasn't a campaign at all. It was ONE clerk at ONE hotel. And DHS knew this because they were already ensconced at other Hilton properties in the area. And Hilton certainly wasn't siding with bad guys, which is why it quickly deflagged the Hampton Inn in question. (How many "murderers" and "rapists" ICE has captured also is questionable.)

This also raises the issue of ICE agents' behavior at Hilton (and other) hotels where it bunkers. At one Homewood Suites property in the Minneapolis suburbs, it arrested an employee without charge or a warrant even though the man had a valid work permit and had applied for permanent resident status. Worse, ICE had assured the hotel manager that it was aware of the employee's legal status and pledged to take no action against him. Worst of all, they flouted a court order and hauled the poor guy to Texas. It took still another court action to get him released. You can read the ruling here.

WELCOME TO 2008 …
I honestly do not remember what people thought about Real ID when the law passed in 2005. But I do know that no Administration wanted to enforce it. Originally planned for 2008, President Bush kicked it down the road. Then Obama did. So did Trump in his first term. Then Biden did. No one seems sure why this iteration of the Trump Administration thought enforcing Real ID was important. Still, starting today, if you show up at an airport and want to fly without federal government sanctioned ID, you'll pay $45. The feds even set up a Web site to handle payments in advance. You know, to speed your airport experience …

DANCE OF THE DOLLAR
The greenback this week hit a four-year low against the Dollar Index, a basket of six key international currencies. President Trump says, "I think it's great ... dollar's doing great." He's probably right if you're an exporter looking to pedal goods overseas. If you're traveling overseas, not so much.

AN AWFUL ANNIVERSARY
Sixty-seven people died at Washington/National Airport last year when a military helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet. The government already admitted it was at fault for the tragedy. But the National Transportation Safety Board report released this week is objectively chilling. Going through the deck makes you angry, it makes you sad--and it frightens the hell out of you because it can happen again.

I CAN'T EVEN ...
Politico says DOT Secretary Sean Duffy is on the outs with the White House. And that some GOP operative is running up insane hotel expenses on the taxpayer dime. I can't tell you how much I don't care about the politics of it all …