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President Donald Trump recently stated that while Democratic lawmakers are eager to negotiate funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), he believes they should not reach any agreement until the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act is approved.
In a post on X, Hannah Brandt, a Washington, DC, Correspondent for NewsNation, shared that during a phone call with Trump, she asked him, “How long he’s prepared to have” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at airports. Brandt’s question to Trump comes after he announced over the weekend that if Democrats do not agree to fund DHS, he will place ICE agents at airports where “they will do Security,” including arresting illegal aliens.
Brandt reported that in a recent phone conversation, President Trump expressed that Democrats are interested in making a deal on DHS funding, but he doesn’t believe any agreement should be finalized until the SAVE Act is endorsed.
“When asked how long he’s willing to have ICE agents assist at airports, Trump responded, ‘For as long as it takes,'” Brandt noted.
Brandt further mentioned that she discussed with Trump how some legislators have proposed funding the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) separately, given the ongoing stalemate over DHS funding. Trump remarked that following his suggestion of deploying ICE agents at airports, Democrats are now keen on reaching a deal.
Trump reiterated to Brandt, “I don’t think any deal should be made on this until they approve SAVE America.”
“I don’t think any deal should be made on this until they approve SAVE America,” Trump told Brandt.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump shared that he did not “think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats” unless they agreed to pass the SAVE America Act.
“I don’t think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass ‘THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,’” Trump wrote. “It is far more important than anything else we are doing in the Senate, and that includes giving these same terrible people, the Dems (who are to blame for this mess!), a Five Billion Dollar cut in ICE funding, a deal which, even when disguised as something else, is unacceptable to me and the American people – UNLESS it includes their 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.”
The post from Brandt comes as Republican lawmakers such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have suggested that funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) be split from funding for DHS.
Cruz’s suggestion comes as airports throughout the United States have seen long TSA lines as spring break travelers have flooded in. Airports have also issued warnings to passengers to arrive anywhere between three and four hours before their flights.
This comes as TSA workers have been faced with working without being paid since the lapse in DHS funding began on February 14.
DHS has revealed that since the partial shutdown started, over 400 TSA employees have quit, according to NBC News. Out of the number of TSA employees who have quit, “almost half have over three years of experience, and a third have over five years.”