President Donald Trump launched into a garbled Truth Social rant Sunday about getting the Save Act through Congress, where he railed against Democrats and used a made up word to call for an end to transgender “mutilization.”
In the lengthy message, Trump said his voter ID bill, which would impose strict new rules and ID requirements for voters to prove their U.S. citizenship, was “far more important than anything else we are doing in the Senate.”
The president said he would oppose any funding deal with the Democrats to end the crippling partial government shutdown unless it included other items on his wishlist. A partial government shutdown has left the Department of Homeland Security without funding.
Trump said any deal to end the shutdown, which has brought security lines at major U.S. airports with security agents being unpaid, must include “approval of Voter I.D., (with picture!), Citizenship to Vote, No Mail-In Voting (with exceptions), All Paper Ballots, No Men In Women’s Sports, and No Transgender MUTILIZATION of our precious children.”
“In other words, lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!!” Trump said. “Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary.”
It was not clear whether the president meant to write “mutilation,” or if he used the made-up word deliberately. He made the same remark in a Truth Social post on March 17. It’s the latest in his entries to the English language, including previous references to “covfefe” and “bigly.”
The president’s threats come as Transportation Security Administration officers have been forced to work without pay after a Department of Homeland Security funding agreement expired five weeks ago, causing havoc at airports nationwide with long waits.Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are due to begin assisting with airport security across the country Monday while also enforcing the president’s immigration agenda, the administration said.
The president vowed “security like no one has ever seen before” and “the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia.”
However, concerns have been raised about the efficacy of the agents.
A federal law enforcement veteran, who spoke to The Independent on condition of anonymity, said having ICE agents staff TSA checkpoints would likely be a frustrating and ineffective exercise.
He explained that the training received by ICE agents isn’t applicable to the tasks performed by TSA, such as reviewing X-ray images of luggage and conducting respectful pat-down searches of travelers when needed.
Over 50,000 TSA staff members have been affected by the shutdown, and nearly 400 have left their jobs amid the crisis, causing further staffing shortages. Others have called in sick, with TSA absences reaching their highest level in recent days.
Major airports, including Houston, Atlanta, and New Orleans, have been the hardest hit, with security lines taking passengers several hours to clear.
White House officials expressed concerns about the impact the issue could have on the forthcoming World Cup if it is not resolved soon.
“I’m extremely worried, not just short term but throughout the summer,” a White House official told Politico. “World Cup and America250 could be crippled if this isn’t resolved asap.”
