Overview
- Trump, who announced the directive Thursday, ordered Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to start paying TSA officers who have worked without pay since mid-February.
- Legal experts warn any unilateral payments could face quick challenges under the Antideficiency Act, and it is unclear whether the move would extend beyond TSA to other DHS staff.
- TSA reports the longest security waits in its 24-year history, with some lines topping four hours, national callouts near 11 percent, and roughly 500 resignations since the lapse began.
- ICE personnel remain funded and were deployed to several airports for ID checks and crowd control, a stopgap critics say does not replace trained screeners and raises safety concerns.
- Congress remains deadlocked as Democrats seek limits on ICE tactics after fatal shootings in Minnesota and Republicans reject those conditions, leaving no clear path to restore DHS funding.