FIFA World Cup Planning Hindered by Shutdown, DHS Official Says

The ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown has “significantly impacted” security planning efforts for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, an agency official told senators Wednesday.

The department won’t be able to quickly replace transportation security officers who left during the shutdown, and the funding lapse has hindered federal cooperation with state and local governments, Office of Homeland Security Situation Awareness Director Christopher Tomney said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.

“We just can’t replace that expertise overnight,” Tomney said. “It has reduced our planned efforts.”

DHS funding lapsed in mid-February as Democrats pushed for immigration enforcement changes and it’s unclear when it will be restored. The Senate passed a deal late last month to fund all of DHS except ICE and Border Patrol, which the House hasn’t considered yet.

“I would assume that not having those funds available does negatively impact,” Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) told Tomney, urging lawmakers to end the DHS shutdown. “The faster we get those things to you, the better and easier it is to do your job.”

An order from President Donald Trump to keep paying DHS workers through the shutdown has taken pressure off House Republicans to pass the Senate’s deal, though it’s also unclear how long the administration can keep unilaterally paying employees without Congress.

“With all that being said though, let me assure this committee and the members of the public, we will have a safe, we will have a secure, it will be an enjoyable tournament,” Tomney said. “But it has had a negative impact on the planning.”