President Donald Trump's move to get Transportation Security Administration employees paid despite a Democrat funding block is only a temporary fix, former TSA Administrator John Pistole told Newsmax on Monday.
Pistole told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" that he isn't surprised that most TSA employees kept working without pay.
"These are the men and women of TSA — professionals," he said.
"They've taken an oath to uphold the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And that means even in a dysfunctional Washington with Congress just not doing their job."
Pistole said most TSA employees worked "for over five weeks" without being paid.
"And now, hopefully, most of them are getting that back pay today."
The next issue is developing a lasting solution if Democrats continue to refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security, Pistole said.
"So I applaud the pay, but it's a short-term fix," he said.
"And they need to figure out something long-term through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30, to make sure that these hardworking men and women can reasonably expect that they go to work and they get paid."
Pistole said other factors will come into play in the next few days.
"How many of those 3,500 that called out sick over the weekend will actually come back?" he asked.
"And then, how many of those 500 plus — 550 or so — who have resigned, what do they do to replace them in terms of people who are looking for a good government job with some security if they don't have that security?"
Pistole pointed to the war with Iran and asked whether U.S. airports are being properly secured amid the congressional funding dispute.
Major U.S. airports that suffered massive disruptions for weeks after 50,000 TSA security officers went unpaid since mid-February say operations on Monday are returning to normal.
Airports in Baltimore, Houston, New York, New Orleans, and Dallas, which have all experienced massive delays in recent weeks, all reported short lines. The standoff brought chaos and, in some cases, security lines topping four hours, the longest in the TSA's nearly 25-year history.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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