President announces order to compensate Homeland Security employees as shutdown enters seventh week and negotiations continue.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump said he will sign an order to ensure employees at the Department of Homeland Security receive pay during an ongoing funding lapse that has extended for 48 days.
In a social media statement on April 2, Trump said DHS personnel have “suffered far too long” during the shutdown and attributed the funding impasse to congressional Democrats. He added that Republicans are “UNIFIED, and moving forward on a plan that will reload funding for our FANTASTIC Border Patrol and Immigration Enforcement Officers.”
The announcement follows a similar action taken last week, when the president authorized pay for Transportation Security Administration officers to address delays at airport security checkpoints. TSA personnel began receiving compensation earlier this week.
The move comes as Congress continues to debate funding for DHS, with the Senate sending a proposal to the House that would restore funding for most of the department’s operations. However, the legislation excludes key enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
The House has not yet taken up the Senate proposal, and lawmakers are not expected to act until returning to Washington in mid-April. As a result, the funding lapse is expected to continue into next week.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said discussions are ongoing, but uncertainty remains about how the House will proceed. “I don’t know the particulars around what the House will do with it,” he told reporters. “My assumption is, at some point, hopefully, they’ll move it.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Thune recently outlined a strategy to address the funding issue through two parallel legislative tracks. Under that approach, one measure would fund most DHS operations, while a separate bill would provide resources for immigration enforcement agencies.
In a joint statement issued April 1, the two leaders said lawmakers would follow the president’s directive to fully fund the department through both the appropriations and reconciliation processes. The reconciliation path would allow Republicans to advance funding for ICE and Border Patrol without requiring support from Democrats in the Senate.
Trump has urged Congress to complete the process quickly, setting a deadline for lawmakers to deliver a final funding bill. In a separate statement, he said he wants legislation on his desk “NO LATER than June 1st.”
The Department of Homeland Security oversees agencies including ICE, CBP, and TSA, and the extended funding lapse has affected operations and personnel across the department.
As negotiations continue, the president’s order to pay DHS workers is intended to provide temporary relief while lawmakers work toward a broader agreement on funding.
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