Speaker Johnson Rejects Senate ‘Joke’ DHS Funding Bill as Trump Signs Order To Pay TSA Agents

TSA workers are set to get paid despite House Republicans rejecting a compromise funding bill that passed the Senate.House Speaker Mike Johnson blasted Senate Republicans on Friday saying the House will not vote on a bill to fund all parts of the Department of Homeland Security that the Senate approved in an overnight vote and instead would take up their own measure.“This gambit that was done last night is a joke,” Mr. Johnson told reporters after meeting with House Republicans. “I’m quite convinced that it can’t be every single Senate Republican read the language of this bill.”Mr. Johnson called the Senate’s action “ridiculousness.” It would have funded all parts of the department except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.“The Republicans are not going to be any part of opening our borders or stopping immigration enforcement,” Mr. Johnson said. He added that he spoke to President Trump and he supported the position of House Republicans. The speaker said TSA agents are going to get paid anyway. Mr. Trump signed a memorandum on Friday afternoon ordering the payments.“As President of the United States, I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security,” Mr. Trump wrote.“Increased wait times, combined with declining morale among TSA staff, unacceptably heighten the risk of security vulnerabilities within our domestic travel system and has negatively impacted countless Americans,” Mr. Trump added.Mr. Johnson said the process was “under way” but it was unclear how long it would take to get money to the TSA agents.Mr. Johnson says the House would vote later on Friday on a clean, simple continuing resolution to fund all Homeland Security agencies at their current levels until May 22. Its possible passage was unclear but Mr. Johnson says he hopes to send the House bill to the Senate to consider as soon as possible.Senators have already started their April recess so they would need to return to Washington for a vote. That likely wouldn’t happen until Monday at the earliest.Travelers have faced long waits at airport security checkpoints as the funding impasse has grown longer than a month. A record number of TSA agents have called out and an estimated 500 have quit after working for up to 41 days without a paycheck.Many passengers have waited more than four hours to clear security at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport this week in some of the work delays in TSA history.

Speaker Johnson Rejects Senate ‘Joke’ DHS Funding Bill as Trump Signs Order To Pay TSA Agents

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