Republican lawmakers ask White House to back TSA temperature screenings for air travelers

Multiple Republican members of congress signed a letter to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows requesting that the Trump administration back the idea of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) implementing temperature screenings for air travelers.

The letter is signed by Reps. Ted Budd of North Carolina, Bill Posey of Florida, Denver Riggleman of Virginia, Andy Harris of Maryland, Chip Roy of Texas, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Ted Yoho of Florida, David Schweikert of Arizona, Randy Weber of Texas, Jody Hice of Georgia, and Michael Cloud of Texas.

"As Members of Congress who strongly support the Trump Administration’s robust response to the monumental health and economic crises created by COVID-19, we write to ask for your leadership on an additional measure that will mitigate spread of the virus while also helping to restore our economy," the letter says. "This important layer would be aviation passenger temperature screenings, performed on a temporary basis, by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

"Having TSA temporarily screen passengers for elevated temperatures, while ensuring that travelers with unrelated medical issues causing elevated temperatures can still travel, has a number of practical advantages," the letter states.

Coronavirus case counts in some parts of the U.S. have recently surged. According to data from Johns Hopkins University there have been more than 2.6 million confirmed cases in the U.S. and more than 128,000 deaths.