Trump to Sign Order to Pay TS 03/27 08:22

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said he would sign an order 
instructing the Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay Transportation 
Security Administration agents, while senators worked into early Friday to 
approve a funding package in hopes of ending a budget impasse that has jammed 
airports, disrupted travel and imposed financial hardship on workers.

   The deal, which the Senate approved unanimously early in the morning without 
a roll call, would fund much of the Department of Homeland Security, except the 
immigration enforcement operations that have been central to the standoff. It 
did not include any of the restraints Democrats demanded as they sought to rein 
in Trump's mass deportation agenda.

   It next goes to the House, which is expected to consider it Friday.

   "We can get at least a lot of the government opened up again and then we'll 
go from there," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. "Obviously, 
we'll still have some work ahead of us."

   But Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the deal could have been 
reached weeks ago, and vowed that his party would continue fighting to ensure 
Trump's immigration enforcement operation "does not get more funding without 
serious reform."

   With pressure mounting to resolve the 42-day stalemate over Homeland 
Security funding, the endgame emerged in the final hours before TSA workers 
miss another paycheck Friday. Trump announced his decision in a social media 
post saying he wanted to quickly stop the "Chaos at the Airports."

   The White House had floated the extraordinary move of invoking a national 
emergency to pay the TSA agents, a politically and legally fraught approach. 
Instead, Trump's order will pay TSA agents using money from his 2025 tax bill, 
according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of 
anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss it publicly.

   At the same time, senators worked through the night on the package that 
would fund much of the rest of the department, including the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency and the Coast Guard, but without funding for Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection.

   Airport lines grow as TSA workers endure hardships

   The funding shutdown has resulted in travel delays and even warnings of 
airport closures as TSA workers missing paychecks stop coming to work.

   Multiple airports are experiencing greater than 40% callout rates of TSA 
workers and nearly 500 of its nearly 50,000 transportation security officers 
have quit during the shutdown. Nationwide on Wednesday, more than 11% of the 
TSA employees on the schedule missed work, according to DHS. That is more than 
3,120 callouts.

   Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government 
Employees, said the union is grateful the TSA workers will be paid, but said 
Congress must stay in session to pass a deal "that funds DHS, pays all DHS 
workers, and keeps these vital agencies running."

   At George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Melissa Gates said she 
would not make her flight to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after waiting more than 2 
hours and still not reaching the security checkpoint. She said no other flights 
were available until Friday.

   "I should have just driven, right?" Gates said. "Five hours would have been 
hilarious next to this."

   A 'last and final' offer on the table

   Earlier Thursday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., announced he 
had given a "last and final" offer to the Democrats.

   Thune did not disclose details of the new framework, but he said it picked 
up from a previous offer over the weekend, before talks with the White House 
and Democrats had broken off.

   "Enough is enough," he said.

   But as senators retreated to privately discuss the new plan, action stalled 
out.

   Democrats argued the GOP proposals have not gone far enough at putting 
guardrails on officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and 
Border Protection and other federal agencies who are engaged in the immigration 
sweeps, particularly after the deaths of two Americans protesting the actions 
in Minneapolis.

   They want federal agents to wear identification, remove their face masks and 
refrain from conducting raids around schools, churches or other sensitive 
places. Democrats have also pushed for an end of administrative warrants, 
insisting that judges sign off before agents search people's homes or private 
spaces --- something new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said 
he is open to considering, but senators want to see in writing.

   Trump had largely left the issue to Congress, but warned he was ready to 
take action, threatening to send the National Guard to airports in addition to 
his deployment of ICE agents who are now checking travelers' IDs.

   "They need to end this shutdown immediately or we'll have to take drastic 
measures," Trump said during a Thursday morning Cabinet meeting.

   The GOP's big tax cuts bill that Trump signed into law last year funneled 
billions to DHS, including $75 billion for ICE operations, ensuring the 
immigration officers are still being paid during the shutdown.

   Any deal almost certainly needs to involve a compromise as lawmakers on the 
left and right flanks revolt. Conservative Republicans have panned their own 
party's proposals, demanding full funding for immigration operations.