(Washington) President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to pay the salaries of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees in an effort to reduce long lines at security checkpoints at many of the nation’s major airports.
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Congress had once again failed to more broadly restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security.
“The American air transportation system has reached its breaking point,” the president said in the memo authorizing the payments. He added: “I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the security of the nation. »
Many TSA agents, deprived of pay, had stopped showing up for work.
Donald Trump indicated that his administration would use “funds that have a reasonable and logical relationship to TSA operations” for these payments. In a statement Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said TSA employees “are expected to begin receiving their paychecks as early as Monday.”
The president’s decision could help ease the plight of air travelers, but it does little to resolve the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) paralysis that has clogged airports and imposed financial hardship on thousands of federal workers.
The partial DHS shutdown will reach 44 days on Sunday, surpassing the 43-day mark set last fall, when the shutdown affected the entire federal government.
House Republicans reject Senate deal
The reaction of Republicans in the House of Representatives to the funding agreement in the Senate adopted early Friday was not long in coming. After opening the session, House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Democrats of playing a dangerous game and said he needed to talk with his Republican colleagues about what to do next.
After a long videoconference, Mr. Johnson strongly criticized the Senate’s decision and announced that the House of Representatives would follow another path. “This maneuver is a farce,” he declared.
House Republicans were furious that the bill passed by the Senate did not fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. Democrats have refused to fund these departments without changes to immigration enforcement practices.
Mr. Johnson indicated that House Republicans would instead seek to pass a bill that would fund the entire department through May 22. He also said he spoke with Donald Trump about the House Republicans’ plan and that the president supports it.
“We’re going to do something else,” Mr. Johnson said. He challenged the Senate to pass the House’s short-term solution to fund Homeland Security through May — assuming that bill passes the House, which is uncertain.
Also, senators left town after voting to defund most of DHS, and so it would take time for them to return if the House ended up passing a different measure.
