President Donald Trump said he will order the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “immediately” pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers as a partial government shutdown continues and DHS remains without enacted appropriations, according to NBC News.
- Who: President Donald Trump; DHS; TSA officers
- What: Trump said he would direct DHS to pay TSA officers immediately during the shutdown
- Why: DHS is unfunded under the lapse in appropriations, leaving many TSA employees working without pay
- Where: TSA screening operations nationwide; DHS headquarters oversight
- Status: The Senate has repeatedly failed to pass a DHS funding deal, NBC News reported
- Workforce impact: TSA officers are generally required to report to work during shutdowns as “excepted” employees, but pay can be delayed until funding is restored (NBC News)
The announcement came amid continued disruption tied to the shutdown’s impact on DHS components, with TSA’s frontline screening workforce among the most visible groups affected. TSA officers have continued to staff airport checkpoints while awaiting back pay once appropriations are enacted, NBC News reported.
Trump’s statement focuses specifically on TSA officer pay, a subset of DHS’s broader shutdown-affected workforce. During a funding lapse, agencies typically cannot issue pay for work performed without an appropriation, and employees may receive pay retroactively only after Congress passes and the president signs legislation to reopen the government. NBC News reported that the Senate’s repeated inability to advance a DHS funding measure has prolonged the situation.
For federal employees and service members who travel frequently, TSA staffing and morale can affect checkpoint throughput and wait times. For TSA personnel, the key issue is whether DHS can legally accelerate pay absent enacted appropriations, or whether any “immediate” payment would require a legislative fix or another authorized funding mechanism. (For background on how shutdown pay rules generally work across federal agencies, see FedBrief: https://fedbrief.org/)
Source: NBC News, Politics — “Trump says he will order DHS to immediately pay TSA officers as partial shutdown continues” (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-says-will-order-dhs-immediately-pay-tsa-officers-partial-shutdow-rcna265393)