WASHINGTON — President Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security and the White House budget office to find a way to pay tens of thousands of unpaid TSA workers during the ongoing DHS shutdown, warning that airport security lines and staffing losses have pushed the system into what he called a national security “emergency.”
In a memorandum addressed to the DHS secretary and the Office of Management and Budget director, Trump said more than 60,000 TSA employees — including roughly 50,000 transportation security officers at U.S. airports — have been working without pay as the shutdown stretches into its sixth week.
The memo blames congressional Democrats for the shutdown and claims the impasse centers on immigration enforcement. It also points to mounting operational strain at airports, citing officer resignations, rising callouts, and security checkpoint waits that the memo says have exceeded three hours at some locations.
Trump directed DHS, in coordination with OMB, to use funds that have what the memo calls a “reasonable and logical nexus” to TSA operations to cover “the compensation and benefits” employees would have earned if the shutdown had not occurred, while staying “consistent with applicable law.”
The order amounts to a pressure-release move aimed at keeping airport screening staffed as travel volume rises. But it also sets up a familiar Washington fight: if Congress won’t appropriate the money, can the executive branch legally reshuffle existing accounts to make payroll?
Be the first to comment