If you have plans to travel domestically or internationally over the next few weeks, BEWARE! TSA Agents at major airports across the country have simply stopped showing up to work amidst the ongoing US government shutdown crisis.
Current Events
Last Friday, tens of thousands of TSA Agents and other government workers across the US did not receive their biweekly paycheck. So, instead of continuing to show up and work for free, many simply called in sick. Although understandable, the tactic has caused security delays of an hour or more at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Miami International Airport, and Washington-Dulles International Airport, to name a few.
Recognizing the snowballing safety concerns, the Transportation Security Administration has started deploying reserve officers and supervisors in the hopes of making up for the staff shortages.
On Monday, nearly 8% of the available TSA Agents missed work with “unscheduled absences,” which is double the amount from last year, said TSA spokesman Michael Bilello. With the government shutdown now in its 4th week (the longest in US history) thanks to Donald Trump’s “Keep Out, Mexicans” border wall, the orange man in the Oval Office is becoming desperate.
On Tuesday, Trump demanded that all TSA Agents return to work immediately, since they are considered “essential” federal employees and are required to work without pay until a deal is reached to reopen the government. However, that makeshift decision did not sit well in the court of public opinion.
“It’s profoundly unfair and almost disrespectful to put us in the middle of this debate over border security when we have absolutely nothing to do with it,” TSA officer Mike Gayzagian said in response to the work mandate.
Trump also summoned all employees of the Internal Revenue Service to return to work without pay. No word on if the TSA Agents or IRS employees will actually return to work and if so, for how long.
Is the hardship, pain, and financial ruin this government shutdown continues to cause ordinary Americans really worth Trump’s Wall of Racism along the Mexican border? For a man who has convinced himself these workers want him to “keep going” until he gets his wall — the answer is sadly very clear!
“Is the hardship, pain, and financial ruin this government shutdown continues to cause ordinary Americans really worth Trump’s Wall of Racism along the Mexican border?” – DJ
Of course, we know the question is rhetorical -the answer being “No.”
And apparently at least one right-wing media nutjob responsible for *punking* Trump into ordering the shutdown is attempting to save her rotten-hide by trying to have it both ways:
Coulter: Trump ‘dead in the water’ if he caves on wall
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter in a new interview criticized President Trump for FAILING to NEGOTIATE an end to the ongoing partial government shutdown, but warned he’s “dead in the water” if he fails to build a wall along the southern border, Newsweek reported early Wednesday. […]- The Hill