Shortly after President Donald Trump on Friday signed a presidential memo directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees, a key House committee meeting descended into conspiracy theories as it debated whether to take action on a Senate bill that would do the same.
Trump’s executive action, on dubious authority, comes as the Senate-passed bill that would fund DHS without Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is stalled.
“America’s air travel system has reached its breaking point,” Trump declared in the memo authorizing the payments. “I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security.”
House Republican leaders — seemingly upset that the Senate GOP did not consult them before making a deal with Democrats — are refusing to get behind the DHS funding bill that the Senate passed with a voice vote around 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning.
