As the partial government shutdown continues to leave TSA workers unpaid and cause long airport security lines across the country, the standoff over Department of Homeland Security funding saw two significant developments since Thursday. President Trump pledged to use emergency funding to restore pay to TSA workers, while the U.S. Senate voted overnight to fund most of DHS, separating out the controversial ICE and Border Patrol agencies.
Trump vows to fund TSA, which he seemingly could have done weeks ago
President Trump stepped into the ongoing crisis of funding the Transportation Security Administration. After deploying ICE agents to several airports earlier this week to assist with airport security, Trump is now saying he will restore pay to TSA employees.
On Thursday, the president posted a long message on social media blaming Democrats for the situation and pledging action. “I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump wrote. “It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it!”
It was not immediately obvious from the message how Trump intended to pay TSA agents, as funding for the agency remains unauthorized due to a larger standoff in Congress over reforms for immigration enforcement agencies, which, like TSA, also fall under the Department of Homeland Security. Despite Trump’s declaration that funding TSA will not be “easy,” The New York Times reported that the president will likely use funds allocated to DHS in 2025 as part of the set of policies and tax cuts passed by Republicans last year.
The president would not need congressional approval or an executive order to use these funds, raising questions about why he has waited more than a month to implement this solution.
“Let the record show: Trump could’ve signed the executive order to pay TSA day 1,” posted Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-Illinois), reflecting Trump’s language that he would “sign an Order” to fund the agency. “TSA and federal workers did not have to miss a single paycheck.”
Senate reaches deal to fund most of DHS; House stance remains unclear
Meanwhile, the larger standoff over DHS funding is closer to being resolved as the Senate approved a measure to fund the Department, with the exception of ICE and Border Patrol. The Senate approved the measure by a unanimous voice vote at 2:20 a.m. Friday morning, after weeks of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.
The idea of separating ICE and Border Patrol and funding the rest of DHS had previously been rejected by Republicans, though GOP members like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas recently began pushing for this compromise. Even with its unanimous passage in the Senate, it is unclear when the House will debate the bill and whether Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and other House Republicans will support the compromise.
The ongoing debates between Democrats and Republicans in Congress center around disagreement over proposed reforms to ICE and Border Patrol. Democrats have refused to fund DHS until policies are put in place to rein in immigration enforcement agents after several heavy-handed interventions around the country and the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Republicans have resisted changes to these agencies.
The resulting standoff has left agencies like TSA unfunded for more than a month, which in turn has contributed to long lines at airports as TSA agents have resigned or called in sick during the period in which they have not been paid.
Republicans and Democrats remain deeply divided over the policies of ICE and Border Patrol, and a quick resolution to this dispute does not appear to be in sight. However, there is now hope that, through presidential or congressional action, other agencies like TSA will no longer be caught in this policy dispute, which could also be good news for travelers hoping to not have to face hours-long delays at airport security checkpoints.