TSA line at Atlanta airport during DHS closure
USA TODAY’s Eve Chen takes you inside the world’s busiest airport during the DHS shutdown.
President Donald Trump signed an order directing funds to pay Transportation Security Administration employees, but his administration said payrolls are still days away, potentially causing historic wait times at airports.
President Trump signed the order on March 27 after weeks of partial government shutdowns left the TSA defunded and employees working without pay. Hundreds of staff have resigned, many are not reporting to work, and security lines stretch outside some terminals, with passengers waiting in some cases for hours.
Signs of a possible funding deal appear to have disappeared once again after efforts to reach an agreement in Congress over dividing funding for immigration enforcement operations were dashed.
As the situation at the airport escalates, President Trump has sent in Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to fill the staffing shortage. They have been at several airports across the country in recent days, and President Trump is considering sending in the National Guard.
Here’s what we know about the latest information on TSA funding and airport delays.
President Trump signs pay order for TSA employees
President Trump signed an order without Congress to reroute federal funds, allowing TSA employees to receive paychecks as early as March 30, rather than waiting to receive back pay after the shutdown ends.
President Trump said the “unprecedented emergency” caused by the “Democrat-led DHS shutdown” justified the action.
Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin began the process of paying TSA employees as soon as President Trump signed the memo. The agency said TSA employees should begin receiving paychecks by March 30 at the earliest.
Track waiting times at the airport before you travel
USA TODAY has created a tracker of TSA wait times at some major airports across the country to help travelers plan their weekend getaways. Updated every 10 minutes.
Is TSA Funded Already? Current Status in Congress
As of March 28, there is little sign that a deal to resolve the partial government shutdown that has disrupted travelers and unpaid TSA employees is imminent. This is despite optimism earlier this week that a deal could be reached.
On March 27, the House passed a stopgap funding measure that Democrats called “dead on arrival,” but the lack of Democratic support meant it had virtually no chance of passing in the Senate.
The bipartisan deal reached in the Senate the night before would have funded everything but ICE and Border Patrol, but was dashed when House Republicans split with Senate Republicans and refused to support it.
It is not clear what will happen next in the ongoing impasse.
Contributors: Zachary Schermele, Trevor Hughes, Bart Jansen
