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The United States is a country divided, and it has Donald Trump to thank for the uproar.
Today is day 27 of the government shutdown, and it’s the country’s longest shutdown to date. Trump opted to close some of America’s most important sectors of government including the State Department, Justice Department, Transportation Department, Agriculture Department, and the Department of the Interior – all departments that were shut down as Trump uses them as a bargaining chip for his infamous $5.7 billion border wall.
Some 800,000 people’s lives and jobs are being affected, and Trump appears to care less. He claims he wants to make America more secure, but this shutdown is having an adverse effect.
NBC News reports two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers were fired after a man carried a gun through airport security undetected the day after New Year’s (Jan. 2).
The passenger – whose name hasn’t been released – boarded a Delta Airlines flight departing from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with a firearm in his carry-on luggage. Many may be wondering how this could happen, but with TSA staff on furlough there is no incentive for them to give the job their best efforts.
TSA released a statement about the incident, but did not say if the passenger’s gun was loaded.
“TSA has determined standard procedures were not followed and a passenger did in fact pass through a standard screening TSA checkpoint with a firearm at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on January 2. TSA will hold those responsible appropriately accountable.”
The agents working Atlanta’s security line have since been fired, but there’s no telling when another incident like this will occur.
Yesterday (Jan. 16), a Georgia resident named Hasher Jallal Taheb was arrested for plotting to blow up the White House with an anti-tank rocket. The man was caught during a sting.
U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak said the man has been charged with attempting to damage or destroy a building owned by the United States using fire or an explosive, reports the L.A. Times.
According to the Times, Taheb has been on the FBI watch list for some time.
“A local law enforcement agency contacted the FBI in March after getting a tip from someone who said Taheb had become radicalized, changed his name and planned to travel abroad, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit filed in court.”
They continued, “The affidavit says Taheb told a confidential FBI source in October that he wanted to travel to Islamic State territory; however, he didn’t have a passport. He told the FBI source he wanted to carry out an attack in the U.S. against the White House and the Statue of Liberty.”
Security around the country in its most vulnerable state, but Trump continues to be unbothered – even though his White House staff, including the chefs, are on an unwanted vacation.
For those who missed it, Trump recently hosted a White House dinner with the Clemson University football team. Because his staff is not currently working, he catered the meal with Burger King, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s – all of his “favorite foods.”