Agents of the Transportation Security Administration have been ordered by the current president of the United States to be paid despite the ongoing current partial shutdown of the federal government — and their pay should arrive as soon as Monday, March 30, 2026.
Transportation Security Administration Agents Ordered to Be Paid
“If Democrats in the Congress will not act to honor the service of our TSA officers, who are now performing their critical public safety responsibilities without knowing whether they will be able to buy food for their families or pay their rent, then my Administration will take action. As President of the United States, I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security”, according to this official statement from Donald J. Trump, which was released during the late afternoon hours of Friday, March 27, 2026. “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).”
The order came after members of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives voted against a bill that was passed by members of the Senate to fund the Department of Homeland Security of the United States through September 2026 so that approximately 90 percent of employees of that department would not not forced to report to work without getting paid a single cent. Republicans continue to blame Democrats for prioritizing immigration issues over workers; and Democrats accuse Republicans of rejecting safeguards like body cameras for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and separate funding bills for agencies like the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency — and the constant bickering back and forth between the members of both political parties has stalled the compensation of agents of the Transportation Security Administration for weeks.
As a result of not getting paid, almost 500 agents of the Transportation Security Administration have quit their jobs since the middle of February of 2026 and hundreds more have called in “sick”, which has led to lines that are so long at security checkpoints at airports, passengers have been reported to have waited as long as six hours to get through them — only to miss their flights anyway.
Airlines are Getting Involved — Somewhat
“Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta,” according to a statement that was released from Delta Air Lines. “Next to safety, Delta’s No. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment.” However, the special Capital Desk reservations line will remain open.
Meanwhile, the chief executive officers of nine airlines in the United States joined Christopher T. Sununu — who is the current chief executive officer and president of Airlines for America, which is a trade group that represents the commercial aviation industry in the United States — in signing an open letter to members of the House of Representatives of the United States to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
“Then they need to act so this problem never happens again. Specifically, Congress should pass the Aviation Funding Solvency Act and the Aviation Funding Stability Act, which would guarantee air traffic controllers are paid regardless of the government’s funding status, as well as the Keep America Flying Act, which would provide the same protections to TSA officers who are tasked every day with keeping Americans secure in the skies”, according to the aforementioned open letter. “TSA officers just received $0 paychecks. That is simply unacceptable. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid.”
Final Boarding Call
The order to pay agents of the Transportation Security Administration bypassed the gridlock during the ongoing current partial shutdown of the federal government of the United States and is better than nothing at all — and it may eventually help to ease the wait times and long lines at security checkpoints at airports around the country…
…but it is only a temporary measure until either a permanent solution is implemented or until the partial shutdown of the federal government ends — and neither of those scenarios are currently envisioned for the foreseeable future…
All photographs ©2015, ©2016, ©2018, and ©2026 by Brian Cohen.
