President Donald Trump urged TSA officers to keep reporting to work without pay during the government shutdown, saying he 'will never forget them' and blaming Democrats for the situation.
Trump accused Dems of not actually wanting money to go to TSA workers. For their part, the Democrats failed to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA, following incidents where American citizens were shot dead by agents.
Democrats hope to leverage the shutdown to demand immigration enforcement reforms, and those include, per NBC News, limiting ICE agents in masks, requiring body cameras, and mandating judicial warrants for arrests. They are also pushing to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits
In a Truth Social post, Trump thanked TSA officers and blamed Democrats for prolonging the impasse.
"Thank you to Johnny Jones and all of our GREAT TSA Agents who are going to work but not being paid because the Radical Left Democrats refuse to honor the deal that was approved and voted on in Congress. They want your money to go to "Border Criminals, Murderers, foreign Drug Dealers, and some of the worst people on earth.
"They don't want it to go to you. Keep fighting for the USA. GO TO WORK! I promise that I will never forget you!!! President DJT,"
The shutdown, which began on February 14th, has strained TSA staffing and airport operations, leading to long security lines and other disruptions.