DHS Suspends TSA Clear
The libs are so owned.
WaPo (“DHS suspending TSA PreCheck and Global Entry as shutdown continues“):
The Department of Homeland Security is suspending two popular programs Sunday that allow some travelers to move more quickly through airport security because of the shutdown of much of the agency, according to a DHS spokesperson.
The department is pausing its TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs — one of several emergency measures the agency said it is taking to redirect staffing more than a week after Congress did not vote to send more money to the agency. DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem said in a statement that the agency is “making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions” and prioritizing the “general traveling population” at airports and ports of entry.
“This is the third time that Democrat politicians have shut down this department during the 119th Congress,” Noem said in a statement. “Shutdowns have serious real world consequences, not just for the men and women of DHS and their families who go without a paycheck, but it endangers national security.”
So, yes, shutdowns have real consequences. In this case, it’s a partial shutdown, impacting only DHS employees and those they serve. But, yes, it means those workers—most of whom have missions that don’t allow their being furloughed—are forced to work without pay until the standoff is resolved. And stressed-out TSA employees—who are in their second shutdown in very short order—are certainly not going to be at their most efficient.
But shutting down TSA Pre and Global Entry—programs that allow those who have been pre-vetted to go through the system somewhat faster—only adds to that. Sure, it frees up a handful of TSA employees from monitoring entry to those lines. But putting everyone into the regular lines means that TSA employees have to give extra scrutiny to those who have demonstrated they don’t need it.
If anything, this exacerbates the problem.
Which, of course, is exactly the point. Frustrated frequent fliers—the overwhelming number of which have paid for membership in these programs—will presumably put pressure on their Members of Congress to end the shutdown.
Not in the headline, but both more effective to that end and more devious:
Among the changes the agency is making starting Sunday is suspending airport police escorts for members of Congress and other expedited services, the agency said.
On the one hand, I support making Members endure hardship for shutting down the government, even partially, rather than doing their jobs. (Although, here, it’s the minority using the only leverage they have since the majority won’t conduct oversight.) On the other hand, I don’t see how the DHS Secretary could possibly have the authority to pull protection from Members.
The Federal Emergency Management Agencywill also halt all “non-disaster related response to prioritize disasters,” Noem said, noting the upcoming winter storm this weekend. The Washington Post previously reported that DHS halted almost all travel amid the standoff over the agency’s funding. DHS is now requiring approval for all FEMA travel, including for disaster relief.
That’ll teach those damn Democrats! Either let ICE run amok and kill a few people, or we’ll let people die in icy conditions.
Democrats have insisted that federal agents wear body cameras and don’t wear masks, get judicial warrants before raiding people’s homes, stop raids on “sensitive sites” such as churches and schools, and adhere to a new code of conduct similar to those of state and local police, among other demands.
I mean, who could possibly agree to that?
Regardless, while I get that administrations like to halt public-facing services during these standoffs to gain leverage, this tactic is almost sure to backfire.
The ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (Mississippi), accused the Trump administration of punishing air travelers and increasing the burden on DHS employees by pausing the PreCheck and Global Entry programs. “The administration must reverse this decision immediately,” he said in a statement Saturday.
Air and travel industry trade groups said pausing the programs on such short notice would be particularly disruptive.
Chris Sununu, president and CEO of the trade association Airlines for America, said in a statement Sunday that travelers had become a “political football” and described the programs’ suspensions as “deeply concerning.” [Yes, it’s that Chris Sununu. The former Republican governor of New Hampshire [and son of another former Republican governor of New Hampshire] is heading up the airlines’ trade association.-jj]
“Travelers should be prioritized, not leverage,” Geoff Freeman, head of the U.S. Travel Association, an industry group, said in a statement Sunday accusing Democratic and Republican lawmakers of prioritizing politics over air traffic controllers, TSA, Customs and Border Protection and the travel experience.
The flying public will, correctly, blame Noehm and, by extension, President Trump for this stunt.
Chris Sununu
Not to forget, kid brother of former US Senator and current candidate for the R nomination for his old senate seat, John Sununu.
Hold out Dems.
I’d say you found the intent.