President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would order the newly sworn in secretary of homeland security, Markwayne Mullin, to pay Transportation Security Administration agents as the department’s ongoing shutdown drags on and negotiations in Congress appear stalled.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump said he would order Mullin “to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports.”
“It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it!” he continued. “I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also, ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports. I will not allow the Radical Left Democrats to hold our Country hostage any longer.”
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A senior Trump administration official told NOTUS that the money would come from the president’s signature domestic legislation, the “one big, beautiful bill,” which provided billions in funding for ICE and other agencies within DHS.
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed nearly six weeks ago after Democratic lawmakers refused to accept a funding plan for the agency that did not include a host of reforms to its law enforcement operations.
On Thursday, the House passed its third attempt at a funding bill, but the measure has little to no hope in the Senate. Negotiations in the upper chamber hit a snag this week as lawmakers haggle over how best to reform DHS’s immigration enforcement operations following the deaths of two Minneapolis residents earlier this year at the hands of federal officers.
Republicans on Capitol Hill were quick to praise the president’s temporary funding plan, while Democratic lawmakers argued the funding lapse still lacks a permanent solution.
“The president is doing exactly the right thing,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso told reporters on Capitol Hill. “The TSA agents are going to be paid. They’re going to repurpose funds, he knows how to do that.”
The move came after a hectic day on Capitol Hill where Senate Republican leaders made what they deemed their “last and final” offer to Democrats.
The proposal was similar to one Democrats spurned earlier in the week that funded all of DHS outside of removal operations, but included language that attempted to assuage those who were concerned that funds used for other parts of the department could be used for deportations.
Momentum gathered throughout the day on the right for Trump to unilaterally pay TSA agents, which has become a political liability for members on both sides of the aisle.
That led to Trump’s action, with lawmakers still at a loss for how to fund the remainder of the department.
“Obviously it takes the immediate pressure off,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters. “It’s a short term solution.”
Sen. Ron Johnson suggested Republicans attempt to fund DHS for “multiple years” through the reconciliation process as a bulwark against Democrats, who may seek more reforms for the agency in the future. The move would allow Republicans to do so with a simple majority.
“Time to recognize reality — Democrats will never take yes for an answer,” Johnson posted to X. “Stop trying to negotiate with them, and begin the Reconciliation Appropriation Process to fund @DHSgov for multiple years.”
“And do not fund ANY Democrat priorities!!!!” he added.
The shutdown has led to record-breaking wait times and long lines at airports across the country, as hundreds of TSA agents quit or call out from work. It’s put increased pressure on lawmakers to cut a deal that would fund the agencies within DHS that do not carry out immigration enforcement.
To reduce ballooning wait times earlier this week, Trump deployed ICE agents to a handful of airports to “assist” overburdened TSA staff. Officers were initially reported to be working as crowd enforcement and providing water to those in line.
On Wednesday, however, some agents were reported to have begun checking travelers’ identification.
Multiple Democrats on Thursday suggested that Trump had the ability to initiate such a funding plan earlier, and intentionally manufactured the crises at airports. Legal analysts have disagreed over whether the executive branch has the authority to selectively move funds during an agency shutdown.
“Trump could have paid TSA officers this whole time. Instead he created a paycheck crisis for TSA workers and forced families to miss flights or stand in hours-long lines,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz posted on X. “Democrats stood up to his cruel incompetence until he relented and will keep fighting for vital ICE reforms.”
The TSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lawmakers in both chambers are scheduled to return home Friday for a two-week break. If the shutdown lasts through the weekend, it would become the longest on record.
Members of the House were notified Thursday evening, in an email seen by NOTUS, of the possibility of weekend votes. It remains unclear whether either chamber will cancel its recess in a last-ditch effort to get a deal across the finish line.
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