President Donald Trump has used an angry Truth Social post to issue a directive for his new Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin.
As the partial government shutdown drags on, leading to ongoing chaos at airports due to lengthy security lines, Trump declared on Thursday he will sign an executive order instructing Mullin, 48, to pay Transportation Security Administration agents immediately.
The TSA staff have not received a full paycheck since the shutdown began on Feb. 14.
“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 in his social media meltdown.
“I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also, ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports.”
Trump claimed that he was “using my authorities under the Law” to pay TSA staff in a move that bypasses Congress, but did not clarify what legal authority he was using.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised Trump’s gesture on Thursday.
“Well, obviously it takes the immediate pressure off, but you know, it’s a short-term solution,” Thune, 65, said. “Give the president credit for responding to a crisis in a way that will make sure that after these guys drug this out for 41 days now, TSA agents are finally going to get paid.”
Sources told The Washington Post that Thune had revealed Trump’s plan to implement an executive order to pay TSA workers in a closed-door lunch earlier on Thursday.
The Senate is set to depart Washington on Friday for a two-week recess. The Associated Press reported Senators stayed late on Thursday night in an attempt to resolve remaining issues. Republicans were attempting to negotiate a last-minute deal that would fund as many DHS departments as possible.
The publication also stated that Trump may skirt potential legal issues surrounding the invocation of a national emergency to pay TSA staff by shifting funds from other areas or relying on Congress to approve the funds.
Mullin used social media to thank Trump for “finding a way to pay our TSA officers to end this chaos at our airports.”
Blaming the Democrats, Mullin noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were also not being paid during the shutdown.
“The Democrats must stop playing political games with our national security, quit punishing our employees, and re-open DHS,” Mullin said.
Republicans and Democrats have repeatedly clashed over efforts to end the government shutdown before their recess. Travel is also set to rise for Americans during the Easter holidays and spring breaks, further straining airport security.
Trump, 79, raged in his Thursday post that Democrats had “recklessly created a true National Crisis,” adding, “I will not allow the Radical Left Democrats to hold our Country hostage any longer.”
Trump claimed that “Cryin’” Schumer and the “Radical Left Democrats” have indicated they stand “ON THE SIDE OF CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS, AND NOT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.”
Trump had already spent Thursday complaining online about House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, calling him a “desperate, crippled politician” and threatening that Republicans will “TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER!”
Schumer, 75, has fought to add guardrails on immigration enforcement operations as part of negotiations on DHS funding during the partial government shutdown, which has impacted TSA staffing and led to airport delays.
TSA staff are considered essential workers, however many have called in sick after being forced to work without pay. The callout rates for TSA officers are above 11 percent nationally, exceeding 40 percent at some airports.
Democrats opposed a Republican bill that would fund DHS for a full year, insisting on reform to change how Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers operate, following American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti being shot dead by federal officers during protests in Minneapolis in January.
Trump deployed ICE agents at airports on Monday in an attempt to shorten TSA screening lines by adding extra security support.
Unlike TSA officers, ICE agents are still being paid during the shutdown because of funding from what Trump labelled his “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which was signed into law last year.
However, data shows ICE officers have not been able to reduce wait times for screening in many airports, with passengers on Wednesday still taking two hours to clear security at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
On Thursday, Trump also threatened to send National Guard troops to airports after some ICE officers were photographed milling around near cafes.
The president said any claims that the ICE agents weren’t helping was “fake news” and insisted “they’re doing such an unbelievable job at the airports that they had one line that was four hours yesterday, and today was half an hour. Big, big difference.”
