President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order directing federal officials to ensure Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees receive pay during the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.
Calling the situation an "emergency," Trump warned that mounting disruptions at airports have pushed the system to a breaking point.
"As the Democrat-caused shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security continues well into its sixth week, America's air travel system has reached its breaking point," Trump wrote. "This is an unprecedented emergency situation."
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More than 60,000 TSA employees have gone without pay, fueling absenteeism and forcing some officers to quit. Nearly 500 TSA workers have already left their jobs, while thousands more have called out sick, according to the order.
"As a result, security wait times at some airports have reached untenable lengths of three or more hours," Trump said.
He warned the combination of longer lines and declining morale is "unacceptably" heightening security risks and disrupting travel nationwide.
Trump said he is instructing DHS, in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, to tap available funds connected to TSA operations to cover employee pay and benefits.
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"Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to provide TSA employees with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a)," Trump said.
In a post on X, DHS said TSA has begun steps to resume paying its workforce, with officers expected to see paychecks as early as Monday.
"President Trump has made the decision that echoes what TSA's frontline employees and the millions of Americans enduring terrible wait times at our airports are saying: the Democrat DHS shutdown has become an emergency," DHS wrote.
Trump previewed the action Thursday, vowing to address airport disruptions.
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A senior administration official told Fox News that funding from Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" will be used to ensure TSA officers are paid during the disruption.
"Not unlike actions taken during the first Democrat-shutdown (i.e., paying the troops), President Trump has determined that congressional Democrats have created an emergency situation that cannot be allowed to continue," White House Office of Management and Budget Communications Director Rachel Cauley said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr and Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
