WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) – The White House is weighing unilateral action to pay Transportation Security Administration officers if the Senate cannot quickly agree to a deal on the Department of Homeland Security’s budget, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussions. A partial government shutdown has forced 50,000 TSA officers […]
Politics
White House weighs sidestepping Congress to pay TSA officers, Washington Post reports
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WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) – The White House is weighing unilateral action to pay Transportation Security Administration officers if the Senate cannot quickly agree to a deal on the Department of Homeland Security’s budget, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussions.
A partial government shutdown has forced 50,000 TSA officers to work without pay since mid-February, leading to major strains at U.S. airports and the longest lines in the ​agency’s history.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune described the potential plan, which would sidestep Congress, to Republican senators in a closed-door lunch, the Post reported.
Asked about the proposal, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that “it is true the White House is having discussions about a number of ideas to blunt the impact” of the shutdown but added “no preparations or plans are currently underway”.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; additional reporting by Jasper Ward and Ismail Shakil;Editing by David Ljunggren)