A White House memo is directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to use any legally available, TSA-related funds—coordinated with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)—to keep Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees paid during a DHS shutdown, according to a copy of the memo shared on Reddit’s r/fednews.
- Who it affects: TSA employees and their pay and benefits during a DHS shutdown
- What the memo directs: DHS, working with OMB, to use “legally available funds tied to TSA operations” to provide the pay and benefits employees would have earned
- Make-whole instruction: DHS is told to make “every effort” to ensure employees are made whole once regular funding is restored, consistent with appropriations law
- Legal framing: The memo emphasizes actions must be consistent with appropriations law, signaling DHS must rely only on funds that can legally be used absent regular appropriations
- Where the document surfaced: The memo was posted and discussed by users on Reddit (r/fednews)
The memo, as described in the r/fednews post, aims to prevent TSA employees from missing paychecks and benefits during a lapse in DHS appropriations by leveraging funding streams that remain available for TSA operations. The directive also underscores that any stopgap pay approach must comply with federal appropriations rules—meaning DHS cannot simply continue payroll as usual without a lawful funding source.
This approach is distinct from shutdown back pay after the fact. Under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-1), most federal employees affected by a shutdown are guaranteed back pay once appropriations are enacted. The White House memo described on r/fednews focuses on continuity of pay during the shutdown period, where possible, rather than waiting for back pay after funding is restored.
For TSA employees, the practical impact depends on what DHS and OMB determine is “legally available” and operationally accessible for payroll and benefits during the funding lapse. Employees should watch for official DHS/TSA communications on payroll timing and benefits continuity, and consult agency guidance on shutdown status and timekeeping.
For broader shutdown pay rules and how back pay works across agencies, federal employees can reference FedBrief’s shutdown policy explainers (https://fedbrief.org/) and pay resources at FedInfo (https://fedinfo.org/).
Source: Reddit, r/fednews post titled “White House issues memo directing DHS to pay TSA employees during shutdown,” including an image/text copy of the memo as shared by users (https://www.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/1s5exww/white_house_issues_memo_directing_dhs_to_pay_tsa/).