White House border czar Tom Homan was left speechless on Sunday when NCS’s Jake Tapper requested him a easy query.
“If Trump had the ability to pay TSA brokers this entire time, why solely begin going it now?” Tapper requested Homan.
Homan expressed aid that Trump had lastly acted on bringing energy again to the TSA. “I’m just glad that President Trump is able to pay the TSA agents — at least that’s a start,” he mentioned.
The DHS shutdown started on February 14, when the division ran out of funding.
TSA officers, who’re thought-about important workers, have been pressured to work with out pay ever for the reason that shutdown.
During a House Homeland Security Committee listening to Wednesday, performing TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill mentioned greater than 480 officers have stop for the reason that shutdown started, on high of greater than 1,100 who left throughout the report authorities-broad shutdown final fall.
On Friday, Trump directed the unfunded DHS to start paying TSA workers. Homan mentioned staff can count on their checks by Monday or Tuesday, which he referred to as “good news.”
“These TSA officers are struggling,” Homan mentioned. “They can’t feed their families or pay their rent. Your heart goes out to them because they’re sitting there right now, working very hard and not being paid, while members of Congress are now on vacation and getting paid.”
Homan additionally mentioned he’s nonetheless at the hours of darkness on whether or not ICE officers deployed to airports final Monday will likely be pulled again as soon as TSA staffing fills up.
“We’ll see,” he mentioned. “It depends how many TSA agents come back to work, how many have actually quit and have no plans coming back.”
He mentioned he’s working with performing ICE Director Todd Lyons and McNeill to “decide what airport needs what.”
The Senate handed a partial DHS funding invoice Friday, however it excluded ICE and Border Patrol.