TSA agents already have a difficult job, but it has become even more difficult over the past several weeks due to unpaid work. Because of the ongoing partial government shutdown, Democrats and Republicans in Congress haven’t been able to compromise when it comes to the DHS or ICE, causing TSA staff to work without pay, and Donald Trump finally signed an executive order to compensate employees with back pay. So, when exactly will TSA agents receive their paychecks?
In late March, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was “going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports. It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it!”
“I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also, ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports,” the Republican president added.
Going six weeks without pay caused a serious burden on TSA staff, with hundreds quitting and thousands calling out sick. Naturally, TSA wait times skyrocketed due to low staff numbers. Trump deployed ICE agents to assist the TSA, but airport delays didn’t improve.
Find out when TSA staff will get paid and get an update on the airport delays.
@becamichie TSA lines at JFK are CRAZY right now…✈️
When Are TSA Agents Getting Paid?
The agency announced that employees “should begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday, March 30.”
“TSA is grateful to the President and Secretary for their leadership to put money back into the pockets of TSA employees who worked without pay during the longest government shutdown in history,” the TSA concluded in its statement, per ABC News.
After more than one month of working with no paychecks, Trump issued an order to pay the TSA staff.
“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,” the president wrote via Truth Social.
Did All TSA Officers Get Paid Yet?
According to multiple outlets, about 61,000 TSA agents are still missing their second full paycheck. Therefore, many, if not all, have still not received everything owed to them at the time of publication.
Are TSA Wait Times Still Bad?
As of March 30, CNN reported that airports have seen TSA wait times “ease” in comparison to the hours-long delays travelers have been facing for weeks.
Since around 500 TSA agents quit amid the shutdown, TSA wait times could still be pretty high in some airports.
