Good afternoon! President Trump used executive authority to resume pay for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers amid the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown. The House and Senate departed Friday for a two-week recess with no funding deal in place. The president signaled progress in negotiations with Iran to end the conflict. He also took a hard line, threatening strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure and the possibility of seizing a key oil terminal if talks stall.
WHITE HOUSE
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Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel are expected to receive pay beginning as soon as today. This was made possible by an executive memo signed by President Trump late last week which directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to use available funds.
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President Trump said Sunday that negotiations with Iran are progressing, and that Tehran agreed to allow 20 oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz as a gesture of goodwill. He warned that if a deal is not agreed to soon, the US could strike Iranian power plants and Iran’s main oil depot, Kharg Island. Most recently, the president raised the possibility of deploying US forces to seize the oil terminal, as well as the country’s water infrastructure, saying the administration is weighing multiple options.
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Today, the president urged Congress to cancel its two-week recess and return to Washington to resolve the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding lapse, now more than six weeks long. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump is encouraging both chambers to fully fund the department and noted that President Trump cannot continue to rely on executive action to address the shutdown’s effects.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release the March employment report on Friday at 8:30 a.m., as markets and policymakers assess the economic impact of the ongoing Iran conflict and rising energy prices. February’s report showed soft payroll growth and an unemployment rate that ticked up to 4.4%, and analysts will be watching whether those trends continued into March.
CONGRESS
- The House and Senate are in recess; the Senate is scheduled to return to Washington on April 13 and the House on April 14. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown entered its 45th day this week, becoming the longest in history, with no resolution in sight. The Senate passed a bipartisan partial funding bill early Friday that excluded funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), but House Republicans rejected the measure and instead passed a 60-day continuing resolution funding the entire department, which Senate Democrats have called dead on arrival. If negotiations yield some progress over the recess, Congress may return early. As of now, there is no movement.
