Lines at airports will not be “truly normal” until Congress agrees to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Leavitt spoke at the White House Press briefing on Monday, providing an update on funding for the department after President Donald Trump signed an order Friday to provide paychecks for Transportation Security Administration officers amid an ongoing funding dispute in Congress.
“Nothing will be truly normal again until Democrats do the right thing to fund this agency fully again,” Leavitt said. “The president has stepped in in the meantime to do what’s right to end this crisis that we’ve had in air travel.”
The Department of Homeland Security has gone without funds from Congress since Feb. 14. Leavitt estimated around 500 TSA employees have quit since the beginning of the shutdown, which forced TSA employees to work without getting paid.
On Friday, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum ordering DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought to use funds with a “reasonable and logical nexus” to TSA operations to fund the agency.
Leavitt did not offer a timeline for how long officers can expect to be paid through Trump’s order. Paychecks started to be sent out on Monday, according to DHS officials. Leaders in the administration have not clarified where funds for DHS are to come from.
In the meantime, Leavitt called on Congress to return to Washington, D.C., and fund the department. Members of Congress are on a recess in observance of Easter and Passover.
Leavitt said Trump would host an Easter dinner for Congressional leaders if they came back to vote on funding for DHS.
“He’s [Trump] calling on Congress to do the right thing, to come back to Washington and to fund and reopen the Department of Homeland Security fully,” Leavitt said.
