Donald Trump has announced he will sign an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to make immediate payments to airport security officers, as the partial government shutdown continues to disrupt travel across the United States.
In a post on Truth Social, the president said he was using his authorities under the law to protect the country, and would instruct the DHS secretary, Markwayne Mullin, to pay TSA agents “immediately” in order to address what he called an “emergency situation” and “quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports”. The order covers around 50,000 TSA officers.
The announcement came as the Senate failed for the seventh time to advance a bill to fund part of the DHS, which has been shut down for nearly six weeks. The vote was 53–47, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to proceed, with the split largely along party lines.
The prolonged shutdown has led to mounting disruption at US airports, with TSA workers facing unpaid work or refusing to report for duty. Some lawmakers welcomed the president’s move but questioned its legality. Democratic congressman Tom Suozzi, co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said he was “happy the president’s taking this type of action”, but added: “We have to find out if it’s legal.”
