Speaking on “Wake Up America Early” Tuesday, Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., asserted that Democrats lack standing when criticizing President Donald Trump for ensuring Transportation Security Administration workers received pay during the partial government shutdown.
Harris defended Trump’s decision to fund TSA agents despite ongoing Department of Homeland Security funding disputes, noting that Democratic lawmakers had repeatedly opposed the move. “The president took an unusual action,” Harris said. “TSA agents did deserve to be paid … My colleague [New York Rep. Gregory Meeks] voted five times against paying TSA agents on the floor of the House. So again, they don’t have a foot to stand on.”
Harris dismissed Democratic claims that constitutional concerns drove their opposition to DHS funding provisions, stating that deportations occur under lawful orders from immigration judges and the dispute is rooted in politics. He emphasized public support for compensating frontline security workers but criticized Senate Democrats for failing to pass a continuing resolution that would have funded the Department of Homeland Security by unanimous consent. “They could have actually passed what we call a continuing resolution,” Harris said. “They didn’t … we have to open up the entire department.”
The representative also condemned Democratic resistance to voter ID requirements and measures like the SAVE America Act, warning such actions risk allowing unauthorized immigrants to vote. “The bottom line is,” Harris added, “they want a country with millions of people here illegally. And they don’t want to check whether or not they’re illegal before they register them to vote.”
Harris accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of benefiting politically from the shutdown and urged immediate action to resolve the funding impasse. “Chuck Schumer likes it politically,” Harris said. “He likes this shutdown. But it’s not right.”
