While Democrats play games with homeland security funding, President Trump is taking matters into his own hands. In a Truth Social post, he announced Thursday that he will sign an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to pay TSA agents immediately, bypassing the partial shutdown that has paralyzed airport security for 41 days.
And the situation at America’s airports has become untenable. Hour-long security lines have become the norm as the Department of Homeland Security funding fight drags into its second month, according to reports from The Hill. Senate Republicans told The Hill they expected the White House to take action if Democrats refused to accept concessions ensuring that DHS funding doesn’t go toward ICE removal operations; that moment has arrived.
Trump didn’t hold back in his Truth Social announcement, accusing Democrats of siding with “criminal illegal aliens” over the American people. “They almost destroyed our Country, allowing 25 Million People to enter from Prisons, Mental Institutions, and Insane Asylums, those that are Drug Dealers, and thousands of Murderers, many of whom killed more than one person,” the president wrote, as quoted in his post. Hyperbolic? Perhaps. But is it entirely wrong?
The executive order represents a direct end-run around congressional dysfunction. Schumer and the Democrats have blocked DHS funding repeatedly, using the appropriations process as leverage to protect illegal immigrants from deportation, per White House statements. Trump is essentially saying: fine, you want to hold airport security hostage, I’ll find another way to pay these workers.
It’s not a perfect solution. Executive orders have limits, and this one will face legal scrutiny, as noted by legal experts cited in Fox News reports. But when one party is willing to let airport security deteriorate to protect the other party’s deportation priorities, extraordinary measures start to look reasonable. The TSA agents showing up to work without pay deserve better than being pawns in a political chess match.
Trump thanked the TSA agents and ICE for their work during the crisis in his Truth Social post. Whether the executive order holds up in court remains to be seen, but the message is clear: the president isn’t going to let Democrat obstruction leave American travelers vulnerable while the Senate dithers.
Providence watches over the bold.
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