Crisis Averted
The US Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown with the passage of a bipartisan funding bill, but the process laid bare the persistent challenges of governance in an era of heightened partisanship and external influences.
The US Air Force has cancelled a $24 million contract for new refrigerators for President Donald Trump’s jet.
The decision to cancel the contract was first revealed in a statement issued on Monday by Joe Courtney, the US Representative for Connecticut’s second congressional district, CNN reported.
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Courtney said the decision to cancel the contract was made jointly by the Air Force and the White House Military Office.
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An Air Force spokesperson, confirming the report, added that there were no plans at the moment to replace the refrigerators through a future contract.
“Even with the understanding that the Air Force One mission brings with it unique requirements and challenges, a $24 million sole-source contract just didn’t pass the smell test,” he said.
In December 2017, the Air Force awarded Boeing a $23.6 million contract to replace two of the five “cold chiller units” aboard the aircraft, CNN reported.
The new $24 million chiller units were intended to replace the refrigeration units being currently used, which, according to the Air Force, were part of “the original commercial equipment delivered with the aircraft in 1990”.
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