President Donald Trump said he would oppose any funding deal to end the crippling partial government shutdown unless it includes approval of his voter ID bill.
Transportation Security Administration officers have been forced to work without pay after a Department of Homeland Security funding agreement expired five weeks ago, wreaking havoc at airports nationwide.
However, Trump said he does not believe his party should “make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass ‘THE SAVE AMERICA ACT’” in a post on Truth Social.
The post came an hour after an Air Canada plane crashed into a fire truck on the tarmac of New York’s LaGuardia Airport, causing the deaths of two pilots.
The controversial bill would impose strict new rules and ID requirements for voters to prove their U.S. citizenship. It would also require states to share this information with the DHS to verify their status.
Trump added that other policy issues including a “Five Billion Dollar cut in ICE funding” would also not be considered “UNLESS it includes their approval of Voter I.D., (with picture!), Citizenship to Vote, No Mail-In Voting (with exceptions), All Paper Ballots, No Men In Women’s Sports, and No Transgender MUTILIZATION of our precious children.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are due to begin assisting with airport security across the country on Monday while also enforcing the president’s immigration agenda, the administration has claimed.
The president vowed “security like no one has ever seen before” and “the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia.”
However, concerns have been raised about the efficacy of the agents.
A federal law enforcement veteran, who spoke to The Independent on condition of anonymity, said having ICE agents staff TSA checkpoints would likely be a frustrating and ineffective exercise.
He explained that the training received by ICE agents isn’t applicable to the tasks performed by TSA, such as reviewing X-ray images of luggage and conducting respectful pat-down searches of travelers when needed.
Over 50,000 TSA staff members have been affected by the shutdown, and nearly 400 have left their jobs amid the crisis, causing further staffing shortages. Others have called in sick, with TSA absences reaching their highest level in recent days.
Major airports, including Houston, Atlanta, and New Orleans, have been the hardest hit, with security lines taking passengers several hours to clear.
White House officials expressed concerns about the impact the issue could have on the forthcoming World Cup if it is not resolved soon.
“I’m extremely worried, not just short term but throughout the summer,” a White House official told Politico. “World Cup and America250 could be crippled if this isn’t resolved asap.”
