Home Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) mentioned Wednesday the Trump administration is searching for methods to pay the U.S. Capitol Police amid the continued shutdown.
“We have at all times stood with Capitol Police and legislation enforcement, and we have proven that in phrase and deed,” Johnson instructed reporters within the Capitol. “If there is a mechanism to do that, they will find it, and they will fund it.”
Johnson mentioned that whereas the administration is pressured to make “unfortunate” selections given the restricted sources obtainable through the shutdown, Republicans would put navy personnel and legislation enforcement on the high of the record.
“We’re looking at it right now as conservative Republicans … that’s who serves in the White House right now,” Johnson mentioned. “But I can tell you that when we look at that, we prioritize troops and law enforcement.”
The White Home Workplace of Administration and Finances (OMB) issued an announcement Tuesday indicating that the administration is readying for a prolonged shutdown, whereas vowing to make sure that the navy and legislation enforcement officers don’t miss a paycheck.
“OMB is making every preparation to batten down the hatches and ride out the Democrats’ intransigence,” the workplace posted on social platform X. “Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs [reductions in force], and wait.”
The OMB didn’t specify which legislation enforcement workplaces it was referring to.
The Trump administration lately shifted unspent funds earmarked for Pentagon analysis and improvement to pay the troops on Oct. 15. Johnson recommended there could be an analogous approach to discover funding for the Capitol Police. These officers are thought of important, which means they must maintain working by way of the shutdown, however they missed their first full paycheck final Friday.
“If we are able to discover a comparable mechanism to deal with Capitol Police, in fact they’re going to do this. However that is in a separate department. So [it’s] a unique dedication,” Johnson mentioned.
As soon as a bipartisan difficulty, assist for the Capitol Police has taken on a extra partisan bent because the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by a whole bunch of President Trump supporters searching for to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Greater than 140 officers have been injured within the rampage, and several other extra died by suicide within the weeks afterward.
Trump has denied the severity of that assault. And on his first day in workplace in January he pardoned roughly 1,500 individuals who have been convicted of crimes associated to the riot, together with those that maimed law enforcement officials.
GOP leaders within the Capitol have additionally refused to dedicate a plaque commemorating these officers, which stays within the Capitol basement greater than two years after it was required by legislation to be put in.
