ToplinePresident Donald Trump suggested Tuesday he won’t be happy with any deal Republican lawmakers make to end the partial government shutdown and restore pay to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers who have been calling out of work in record numbers, which has led to long security wait times for airline passengers. President Trump on Tuesday told reporters he didn't support any DHS funding deal that paid TSA workers without also funding ICE. (Photo by Jim WATSON)AFP via Getty ImagesKey FactsTrump on Tuesday told reporters “any deal they make I’m pretty much not happy with it” regarding ongoing Senate negotiations to end the government shutdown and begin paying TSA agents again, even as some prominent Republicans support the Democrats’ offer to fund Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies separately.Delta Air Lines on Tuesday suspended line-skipping privileges for members of Congress, as the carrier’s main hub at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport advised passengers “to allow at least 4 hours or more” to clear security.Security wait times also topped four hours Tuesday morning at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, which warned “missed flights possible.”Some airports, including New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia, have stopped reporting wait times and instead advise passengers to “allow for significantly more time.”Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were sent to 14 airports Monday, and White House’s border czar Tom Homan said “there will be more.”Three TSA officers, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution, told Forbes they resented seeing “unqualified” ICE workers “walking the airports” and “not helping TSA” while their colleagues faced a second missed paycheck this weekend.Tsa Lines Have Lengthened During The Partial ShutdownAs the partial government shutdown has dragged out and TSA workers prepare to miss a second paycheck this weekend, the number of TSA officers calling out of work has surged. On Sunday, the callout rate was 11.76%, the highest of the shutdown, a TSA spokesperson told Forbes. On Monday, 3,200 officers, or 10.93% of the workforce, called out of work, according to agency data. The airports with the highest call-out rates on Monday were: Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (40.3%), Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson (37.4%), Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental (36.1%), New Orleans (34.9%), New York’s John F. Kennedy (33.7%), and Baltimore-Washington International (30.4%).Will Congress Members Get To Keep Skipping Tsa Lines?“Members of Congress are getting an unfair perk,” wrote Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) last week when introducing a bill that would require members of Congress to undergo the same TSA screening procedures as all other airline passengers. It would also prohibit using federal funds to provide U.S. Senators and House members with expedited or preferential access at airport security checkpoints. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and now goes to the House for a vote.Why Did President Trump Send Ice Agents To Some U.s. Airports?President Donald Trump sent ICE agents to airports Monday to help with long TSA security lines caused by the partial government shutdown. But it does not appear that the initiative has been effective in reducing wait times for passengers. Many videos and images captured by news services showed ICE agents standing around talking instead of helping unpaid TSA workers screen passengers. A viral video taken at San Francisco International Airport shows ICE agents detaining a woman in front of her child as members of the crowd can be heard shouting “leave her alone” at the officers. At Newark Liberty International Airport, bystanders shouted “ICE out!” at immigration officers deployed there. One TSA worker told Forbes he and his colleagues “are sickened” at seeing “unqualified DHS employees walking the airports—with pay” while he and his colleagues go unpaid. TSA workers are slated to receive a second $0 paycheck this weekend. Sending untrained and paid ICE agents into airports “is a straight up distraction to the real story of TSA officers going to work without being paid,” Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100, the union representing airport security screeners, told reporters Tuesday. “ICE officers are being paid. This is kind of like an insult to the [TSA] employees.”Which U.s. Airports Have Ice Officers Been Deployed To?Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson InternationalChicago O'Hare International AirportCleveland Hopkins International AirportFort Myers’ Southwest Florida International Houston's William P. Hobby AirportHouston's Bush intercontinentalNewark Liberty International AirportNew Orleans’ Louis Armstrong InternationalNew York’s John F. Kennedy International New York’s LaGuardia Airport Philadelphia International AirportPhoenix Sky Harbor International AirportPittsburgh International AirportSan Juan’s Luis Munoz Marin International Further ReadingNightmare TSA Lines Erupt Again: Atlanta, Houston Airports Among Those Hardest Hit (Forbes)Flying This Weekend? Expect ‘Perfect Storm’ Of TSA Callouts And Spring Break Crowds (Forbes)
Trump Opposes DHS Deal As 4-Hour TSA Wait Times Sting Atlanta, Houston Airports
President Trump spurns deal to pay TSA workers as wait times at some of the country’s busiest airports were above four hours again on Tuesday.












