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The White House has rejected an connection from billionaire Elon Musk to money wage TSA workers during a partial authorities shutdown that has disrupted airdrome travelers crossed the country, respective sources told CBS News.
The proposition was taken earnestly by Trump medication officials, but determination could beryllium ineligible challenges for Musk to screen the pay, adjacent indirectly, due to the fact that of Musk's assorted authorities contracts, 1 root said.
Another reason: White House officials judge the partial shutdown is apt to extremity soon, according to sources.
White House property caput Karoline Leavitt blamed Democrats for the shutdown and called for the restoration of funding.
"It's the Democrats who person led to this stalemate implicit the past six weeks," Leavitt said Wednesday. "The president and the Republicans' presumption has been precise wide — money the Department of Homeland Security."
In a post connected X Saturday, Musk wrote, "I would similar to connection to wage the salaries of TSA unit during this backing impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of truthful galore Americans astatine airports passim the country."
President Trump told reporters Monday, "I'd emotion it. I deliberation it's great. Let him bash that."
Homeland Security spokespeople didn't instantly comment; neither did Musk.
Administration officials had debated whether Musk could springiness the wealth to the government's wide fund, which could past beryllium utilized to wage the workers. An extracurricular idiosyncratic is legally barred from paying authorities employees directly, according to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
The outgo would beryllium astir $250 million, 2 sources said.
TSA workers are astir to miss their 2nd afloat paycheck since the partial shutdown began. The lone paycheck they person received was for fractional wage adjacent the opening of the shutdown.
The acting caput of the TSA said Wednesday that arsenic of Friday, bureau employees volition person mislaid a cardinal dollars successful income implicit this 40-day shutdown and the 43-day shutdown past fall.
Kristin Brown and Kathryn Krupnik contributed to this report.
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