Updated on: March 27, 2026 / 4:27 AM EDT / CBS News
President Trump said Thursday he will sign an executive order to resume pay for Transportation Security Administration officers, who have gone more than a month without full pay amid a lapse in Department of Homeland Security appropriations that began in February. He did not specify the legal authority he plans to invoke.
“Because the Democrats have recklessly created a true National Crisis, I am using my authorities under the Law to protect our Great Country, as I always will do,” he wrote in a Truth Social post. He said the order will direct Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who was sworn in earlier this week, to restart officers’ pay “immediately.” “It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it!” Mr. Trump added.
A senior administration official told CBS News the administration plans to tap funding from last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act to pay TSA officers, though it is unclear which provision would be used. That law included tens of billions of dollars for various DHS functions, including immigration enforcement, security for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics, state grants and protection for presidential residences.
TSA officers were facing the prospect of missing a second full paycheck on Friday as lawmakers remained deadlocked over DHS funding. Senate Democrats have sought additional reforms to immigration-focused agencies that House Republicans have resisted. Early Friday the Senate approved funding for most of DHS; the House must still act.
The pay lapse has produced high absence rates: more than 10% of officers who staff airport security checkpoints are calling out on a daily basis, with callout rates exceeding 40% at some airports. Hundreds of officers have left the agency. Waits at some larger airports have stretched for hours, and TSA officials have warned that smaller airports could face closures if staffing shortages persist.
The administration deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to more than a dozen airports this week to assist with long lines, and Mr. Trump suggested he might send National Guard forces if necessary.
Airlines for America president and CEO and former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu praised the president’s move to restore pay. “We are grateful to President Trump and Secretary Mullin for implementing a solution to pay tens of thousands of dedicated TSA officers for the important job they do, serving with professionalism on the frontlines of our nation’s aviation system, despite not receiving pay for more than 40 days,” Sununu said.
Sununu told CBS News that even if a funding deal is reached quickly, back pay may not arrive for workers for several days: “You’re still going to see that backpay doesn’t come in maybe until late next week or even the following week, because it just doesn’t happen that fast.”
The administration also considered an offer from Elon Musk to pay TSA workers, but rejected it over legal concerns tied to Musk’s government contracts, CBS News reported.
How the president would unilaterally restore pay remains unclear. The administration has in past shutdowns shifted funds to mitigate impacts: active-duty Coast Guard personnel are being paid from discretionary funding during the current DHS lapse, and Congress previously provided tens of billions of dollars to ICE and Customs and Border Protection in last summer’s bill, muting some effects. During last fall’s government shutdown, military members, FBI agents and DHS law enforcement personnel also continued receiving paychecks.
Kristin Brown contributed to this report.
