US Airports in Chaos Due to Unpaid Staff, Trump Steps In
US President Donald Trump has ordered the newly appointed Secretary of Homeland Security to immediately pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents. This directive comes amid the stalled funding discussions for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Senate.
Trump conveyed the order via the Truth Social platform. He stated that the measure is necessary to alleviate the long queues at airports resulting from partial government operational shutdowns.
“I will sign an order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents to address this emergency situation,” Trump wrote, as quoted by CNN International on Friday (27/3/2026).
The budget impasse for DHS on Capitol Hill has persisted for more than six weeks. Efforts to negotiate between Republicans and Democrats have yet to yield results, despite intensive discussions by senators from both sides.
Republican Senator John Barrasso described the talks as having reached a deadlock after a voting session lasted for hours without agreement. He also criticised the Democrats for allegedly delaying the process.
“We have kept the vote open for five hours to give the Democrats a chance to come to the negotiating table. They have not done so, and now time is up,” Barrasso said.
On the other hand, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz refuted the accusations. He emphasised that negotiations have been ongoing throughout the day.
“I will only say that we have been talking all day. So, it is not true that we are not negotiating,” he stated.
Another Democratic Senator, Chris Murphy, hoped that Republicans would not unilaterally halt the talks.
“We have been actively talking all day and negotiations are ongoing. I hope they do not decide to walk away from the negotiations,” he said.
This impasse has directly impacted airport operations across the United States. Thousands of TSA agents and other DHS employees have not received salaries for 41 days, causing travel disruptions and increased long queues.
Nevertheless, it remains unclear what funding source the government will use to pay the TSA agents amid the budget shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated that the Senate may delay its recess if no agreement is reached. “We must try to resolve this today,” Thune said.
Meanwhile, although some Democrats have shown positive signals towards the latest Republican proposal, differences regarding funding for immigration enforcement, particularly for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), remain the main stumbling block in the negotiations.