Trump orders TSA employees to be paid during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.

Investing.com – U.S. President Donald Trump issued a memo on Friday instructing the Department of Homeland Security to use available funds to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees, as the Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for six weeks.

The memo is addressed to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, instructing officials to use funds related to TSA operations to provide wages and benefits to TSA employees.

Since the shutdown began, over 60,000 TSA employees, including about 50,000 transportation security officers working at domestic airports, have been working without pay. The President has characterized this situation as an emergency threatening national security.

According to the memo, nearly 500 transportation security officers have left since the shutdown began. Due to a lack of pay, thousands of employees are taking sick leave at record rates.

Due to staff shortages, security screening wait times at some airports have reached three hours or longer. The memo notes that these delays, combined with decreased morale among TSA employees, have exacerbated security vulnerabilities in the domestic travel system.

This shutdown stems from a standoff in Congress over immigration enforcement issues. The memo states that the Democrats caused the Department of Homeland Security shutdown by demanding a ban on the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

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