President Donald Trump is personally responsible for the shutdown affecting TSA
Republicans voted for the 11th time to block Democratic efforts to fully fund TSA amid a partial government shutdown. Here's how President Trump blocked a bipartisan deal
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers have gone without pay for 40 days as a partial government shutdown drags on. TSA is housed under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Senate is in a stalemate over DHS funding, with Democrats demanding accountability for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
As the shutdown drags on, Democrats have attempted 11 times to fund TSA separately, and Republicans have voted against it each time. Republicans have tried to reach a deal, but President Donald Trump demanded that Republican senators keep up the shutdown. There is a lot going on here, so let’s break it down.
President Donald Trump is threatening extraordinary actions to sidestep the Senate
The president is not immune to public perception and pressure. President Trump is known to walk back policies or comments when he sees that they are unpopular. After all, he has made a career of wanting to be liked and caring what people think about him. The mounting pressure to alleviate the long lines and wait times at airports is starting to make President Trump crack.
According to the Associated Press, the president is considering declaring a national emergency to force DHS to pay TSA workers. The move is a desperate attempt to end a partial government shutdown that is hurting the president’s polling numbers.
The president posted to Truth Social that he wants to end the chaos at the airports, and he is prepared to do whatever it takes to end the pain he has caused.
“It’s not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it!” the president wrote.
Sixty votes are required in order for the funding to pass the Senate; senators are ready to get rid of the filibuster. Republicans need Democrats to cross party lines and vote with them to pass it. But by not negotiating in good faith, Democrats have stood strong on their demands.
Democrats are asking to rein in ICE. Democrats want three things: stricter standards around judicial warrants for arrests, ICE agents wearing body cameras, and banning ICE agents from wearing masks. Recent polling shows that Americans want the agency overhauled. Yet, like always, Republicans don’t want to work for the people.
Democrats have attempted to get the TSA paid to end the airport chaos
Democratic senators have offered 11 times to fully fund TSA, separate from the negotiations to fund DHS. Each time, Republicans have voted against the bills, creating an unnecessarily long partial shutdown. The refusal to vote to fund TSA separately has created more chaos in airports across the country. President Trump deployed ICE agents to airports to help with security, but social media posts show ICE agents hanging around like spectators.
“We can pay TSA workers right here, right now,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who offered that latest attempt to fund TSA. “Republicans are more interested in playing political games and holding the rest of DHS hostage than governing and keeping our communities safe!”
Sen. Merkley first sought unanimous consent to fund TSA directly and independently. However, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) refused. Sen. Moreno then blocked Sen. Merkley’s second attempt to fund all of DHS except for ICE and CBP so TSA workers can get paid and negotiations can continue.
Previously, Democrats and Republicans came to an agreement to fund all of DHS, minus ICE and CBP. Republicans said they could fund ICE later with a reconciliation. This would be along party lines, guaranteeing desired funding for ICE. President Trump told Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) no deal. The decision means that President Trump personally blocked pay for TSA workers.
Even Republicans have blamed President Trump for the prolonged shutdown
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) explained in a recent interview that a deal had been reached to partially fund DHS. The bipartisan deal was seen as a victory within the Senate, but President Trump didn’t like it. Republicans were prepared to accept the deal.
“[W]e would offer a bill for reconciliation where we don’t need any Democratic votes to do whatever we wanted to do with ICE. And that way we’re out of the shutdown, and DHS is back open,” Sen Kennedy said in the interview. “Senator Thune submitted that to President Trump, as is his right. He said no. No deals with the Democrats. It would’ve worked. We could’ve had TSA paid by the end of the week. But the president said no deal.”
Whether or not he meant to, Sen. Kennedy single-handedly disproved that Republican talking point that Democrats are to blame for the TSA chaos. In one interview, he admitted that Democrats were willing to fund TSA, but President Trump wasn’t done with his political theater.