On Wednesday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) said that the DHS shutdown could end and TSA can be funded, “All that needs to be done is for the Republicans and the President to simply say, you know, you’re right” and do what Democrats want.
Co-host John Berman asked Garamendi about his response to President Donald Trump blaming Democrats for the situation at airports and “What responsibility do you think Democrats have to get TSA funded?”
Garamendi responded, “Let’s just go back about a month and consider what was going on in Minneapolis. Let’s consider what the ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents were doing in Minneapolis. What we demanded, and still demand, is that ICE and Customs and Border Patrol be reformed, that they be properly trained, that they stop wearing masks — hiding behind a mask, [that] they wear body cams, identification, training, all of those things. There are twelve specific things that we want to do to reform ICE. And, for some reason, the President and the Republicans refuse to deal with the reform of the largest police force in America. We just want them to have the same responsibilities, the same training that every other police force in the United States has. That’s what we want, and that’s where this holdup is. All that needs to be done is for the Republicans and the President to simply say, you know, you’re right, this police force ought to be properly trained, this police force ought to have the appropriate equipment, they ought to have body cams, identification. They ought not hide behind masks, all of those things. This would be done, and this would open up TSA, and the funding would go forward.”
Berman then asked, “In the meantime, the lines are an hour long or longer. Yesterday, they were well longer than that. A TSA administrator who we’re going to have on shortly said, if this continues, they may have to actually shut down some airports. What’s your message to him?”
Garamendi answered, “Well, the message is that, tomorrow, Congress finishes our session for this week, and 435 of us and the senators are going to be leaving town, many of us on an airplane. So, we’re going to be right smack in the middle of that problem. However, this can be solved in a moment’s notice. President Trump, let’s reform ICE, let’s have a proper police force, let’s have one that’s well-trained and well-prepared to do its job. That’s all that’s necessary here. And this could be over this afternoon if the Republicans and the President would simply agree that the largest police force in America be properly trained and that it be prepared to deal with the situation appropriately. And I want the public to remember what was going on in Minneapolis and in other states and other cities around this nation. We want this police force to be properly organized and properly operated.”
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