Trump signs order to pay DHS employees during record shutdown

Coverage

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order instructing the Department of Homeland Security to pay all of its employees during the ongoing partial government shutdown, now in its 49th day — the longest in S. history. The order, titled "Liberating the Department of Homeland Security From the Democrat-Caused Shutdown," directs Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to use funds "that have a reasonable and logical nexus to the functions of DHS" to pay "each and every employee of DHS," as reported by The Guardian.

The president announced the measure on social media Thursday, saying he would sign an order to pay TSA agents "immediately" to address what he described as "Democrat Chaos at the Airports." In a subsequent post, he thanked TSA and ICE personnel for "the incredible help they have given us at the Airports," adding that DHS families "have suffered far too long."

According to official statements, the executive order also criticizes what it calls the "callous treatment of DHS employees" and argues that paying workers is necessary to ensure the S. "is not susceptible to security threats and maintains readiness to respond to emergencies."

Key Claims

• DHS pay order scope: The order directs the homeland security secretary to use available funds to pay all DHS employees, not just TSA agents. This was reported by The Guardian, which noted the order mirrors a previous one aimed solely at TSA.

• TSA pay gaps: TSA agents have been working without pay for over a month, with nearly 500 officers having quit since the shutdown began, according to The Guardian's report. An estimated $1 billion in paychecks has been missed, the acting TSA head, Ha Nguyen McNeill, told Congress.

• Employee hardship: McNeill testified that TSA employees have missed bill payments, received eviction notices, had cars repossessed, lost childcare, defaulted on loans, and some are sleeping in their cars or selling blood plasma to make ends meet, as quoted by The Guardian.

• FEMA funding: Approximately 10,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency workers are being paid from the non-lapsing Disaster Relief Fund, according to one Guardian article, though this detail appears only in that piece.

• Root of the shutdown: Democrats have refused to support a funding bill for DHS without guardrails on ICE operations, while House Republicans rejected a compromise that would have funded DHS but excluded ICE and other immigration enforcement offices, as detailed by The Guardian.

Analysis

The executive order represents a workaround to the appropriations impasse, using existing funds with a "reasonable nexus" to DHS functions. However, it may face legal challenges regarding the scope of such spending authority. The order covers all DHS employees, which includes not only TSA but also Border Patrol, Secret Service, and Coast Guard personnel, many of whom are furloughed or working without pay.

The shutdown's impact on aviation has been a focal point: long queues and missed flights have drawn national attention, and the departure of hundreds of TSA agents suggests a potential erosion of security staffing. The order may provide temporary relief, but it does not resolve the underlying political dispute over ICE funding, which remains the central obstacle to reopening the government.

As the shutdown enters its 50th day, both parties show little sign of compromise. The executive order could offer a short-term fix, but without congressional action, DHS funding will remain partisan, and the threat of future shutdowns looms.