trump tsa is now at the center of a fast-moving standoff over unpaid airport screeners during a Department of Homeland Security funding lapse. On Thursday evening, President Trump said he will sign an executive order instructing DHS to immediately pay TSA workers as long lines continue at major airports across the United States. The push comes as the White House also turned down billionaire Elon Musk’s offer to cover TSA salaries, citing legal challenges tied to his federal contracts.
Airport delays persist even with ICE deployed
Immigration officers were stationed again at airports across the United States on Thursday, part of a Trump administration effort to relieve long lines and severe delays caused by understaffing at security checkpoints.
The Transportation Security Administration has been critically short-staffed for more than a week as thousands of security officers—working without pay since DHS funding lapsed five weeks ago—have been calling out of work daily. TSA’s acting administrator told Congress on Wednesday that at least 480 security officers have quit.
It remains unclear how much impact the added presence is having. At Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, wait times exceeded four hours in each of the first two days of the ICE deployment after the airport closed all but two security checkpoints. In Atlanta, where waits stretched as long as six hours over the weekend, airport management advised travelers to allow at least four extra hours to account for delays. Other major transit hubs have seen relatively short delays in recent days.
Trump Tsa: executive order promise as DHS talks stall
On Thursday evening (ET), Trump said he would sign an executive order instructing DHS to pay TSA workers, a move that followed signs that negotiations in Congress on a deal to reopen DHS had stalled despite earlier optimism in the week.
posted on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he is going to sign an order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay TSA agents. He described the airport disruptions as an emergency situation.
How the administration would secure the money for TSA payroll was not spelled out. The legal authority for shifting funds was not clarified in the announcement, and there was no detail provided on timing beyond the instruction to pay workers immediately.
White House rejects Musk’s plan amid legal barriers
In a separate development, the White House rejected an offer from Elon Musk to pay TSA workers during the partial shutdown. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, blamed Democrats for the shutdown and called for the restoration of funding, saying Wednesday (ET) that Democrats have led to the stalemate and that the president and Republicans want DHS funded.
Musk posted on X on Saturday (ET) that he would like to offer to pay TSA personnel during the funding impasse. Trump told reporters Monday (ET) that he would love it and thought it was great.
But White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the offer would pose significant legal challenges due to Musk’s involvement with federal government contracts, adding that the fastest way to ensure TSA and DHS employees get paid is for DHS to be funded. Administration officials debated whether Musk could give money to the government’s general fund, but an outside individual is legally barred from paying government employees directly, the U. S. Office of Government Ethics has stated. The U. S. Treasury notes that citizens can donate through an account called “Gifts to the U. S. Government, ” where funds can be available for budget needs.
Quick context and what comes next
TSA agents have been working without pay since DHS funding lapsed in mid-February, and the ongoing call-outs have driven record-setting delays at some airports. Separately, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa have proposed the End Special Treatment for Congress at Airports Act to end expedited screening and “courtesy escorts” for members of Congress.
Next developments hinge on whether Congress reaches a DHS reopening agreement and whether the White House follows through quickly on the promised executive order. For travelers, the immediate question is whether staffing stabilizes and security lines shorten as trump tsa becomes the defining pressure point of the shutdown’s airport disruption.
