Trump says he'll sign order to pay TSA agents as Congress struggles to reach funding deal

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said Thursday helium would motion an exigency bid instructing the Homeland Security caput to instantly wage Transportation Security Administration agents arsenic Congress struggles to scope a woody to extremity the fund impasse that has jammed airports and near workers without paychecks.

Trump announced his determination successful a societal media station saying helium wanted to rapidly halt the "Chaos astatine the Airports."

"It is not an casual happening to do, but I americium going to bash it!" the president posted.

With unit mounting, the White House had floated the bonzer determination of invoking a nationalist exigency to wage TSA workers portion senators reviewed a "last and final" connection to extremity the backing impasse that has jammed airports and disrupted travel.

Markwayne Mullin, right, watches arsenic President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremonial successful the Oval Office of the White House successful Washington, DC, connected Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Democrats person been refusing to money the Department of Homeland Security arsenic they request changes to rein successful President Donald Trump's migration enforcement operations. Trump during an lawsuit astatine the White House warned helium would measurement successful if Congress failed to act.

The Senate came to a standstill and senators, acceptable to permission municipality for their ain outpouring break, prepared to enactment each nighttime to scope a deal.

"Enough is enough," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., arsenic helium announced helium had fixed the last connection to the Democrats.

Thune did not disclose details of the caller framework, but helium said that it picked up connected what had been the Republican connection implicit the weekend, earlier talks with the White House and Democrats had breached off.

"Hopefully ... determination volition beryllium immoderate finality successful this existent soon," Thune said.

The shutdown of backing for DHS, present successful its 41st day, has resulted successful question disruptions, missed paychecks and adjacent warnings of airdrome closures. TSA workers are coming up connected their 2nd missed paycheck Friday, with thousands refusing to amusement up for work.

Multiple airports are experiencing greater than 40% callout rates of TSA workers and astir 500 of its astir 50,000 proscription information officers person present discontinue during the shutdown. Nationwide connected Wednesday, much than 11% of the TSA employees connected the docket missed work, according to DHS. That is much than 3,120 callouts.

Trump, who has mostly near the contented to Congress to resolve, threatened to nonstop the National Guard to airports, successful summation his deployment of ICE agents who are present checking travelers IDs - a improvement drafting concerns.

The White House is considering a paper of options, including declaring a nationalist exigency to wage the TSA workers, a determination that would beryllium a politically fraught and astir definite to look ineligible challenges.

"They request to extremity this shutdown instantly oregon we'll person to instrumentality drastic measures," Trump said Thursday during a Cabinet gathering astatine the White House.

At George Bush Intercontinental Airport successful Houston, Melissa Gates said she would not marque her formation to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, aft waiting much than 2 hours and inactive not reaching the information checkpoint. She said nary different flights were disposable until Friday.

"I should person conscionable driven, right?" Gates said. "Five hours would person been hilarious adjacent to this."

A 'last and final' connection connected the table

Senators retreated to privately sermon the latest connection arsenic a halfway radical of much than 10 senators, Democrats and Republicans, worked to hammer retired the details.

"I deliberation we each recognize we're not going anyplace until this is done," said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

Democrats reason the GOP proposals person not gone acold capable astatine putting guardrails connected officers from ICE, Customs and Border Protection and different national agencies who are engaged successful the migration sweeps, peculiarly aft the deaths of 2 Americans protesting the actions successful Minneapolis. They privation national agents to deterioration identification, region their look masks and refrain from conducting raids astir schools, churches oregon different delicate places.

Republicans said aft a backstage luncheon gathering that determination were different options than invoking the nationalist emergency.

"The president whitethorn good determine that, but I don't know," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, who said determination was backing elsewhere that tin beryllium legally utilized to wage TSA arsenic good arsenic the Coast Guard.

Over the weekend, talks with the White House, including with borderline czar Tom Homan, appeared to beryllium making advancement toward a deal, including connected respective items Democrats had been demanding, specified arsenic the IDs and limits connected raids astatine delicate places.

Senate Democratic person Chuck Schumer of New York said they needed to spot existent changes. "We've been talking astir ICE reforms from time one," helium said.

Any woody volition astir surely request to impact a compromise arsenic lawmakers connected the near and close flanks revolt. Conservative Republicans person panned their ain GOP proposals, demanding afloat backing for migration operations and skeptical of the committedness from leaders that they would code Trump's proof-of-citizenship voting measure successful a consequent legislative package.

Trump stays retired of the fray

Trump did not straight code the presumption of negotiations precocious Wednesday evening during an yearly fundraising meal for the House Republicans' run committee. On Thursday, the president revived his run for senators to extremity the filibuster arsenic a mode to overpower absorption to GOP policies, thing astir Republican senators bash not privation to do.

The GOP's large taxation cuts measure that Trump signed into instrumentality past twelvemonth funneled billions to DHS, including $75 cardinal for ICE operations, ensuring the wealth is flowing for his migration and deportation docket adjacent with the backing shutdown. ICE and different migration officers are inactive being paid.

Republicans accidental the Trump medication has already made strides to conscionable Democrats' demands, peculiarly aft swearing successful Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin arsenic the caller homeland information caput to regenerate Kristi Noem.

Airport lines turn arsenic TSA workers endure hardships

"This is simply a dire situation," the acting TSA administrator, Ha Nguyen McNeill, testified astatine a House proceeding Wednesday.

She described the aggregate hardships facing unpaid TSA workers - piling up bills and eviction notices, adjacent plasma donations to marque ends conscionable - and warned of imaginable airdrome closures if much employees garbage to travel to work.

"At this point, we person to look astatine each options connected the table," she said.

McNeil besides said TSA officers moving astatine the nation's airports person experienced a much than 500% summation successful the frequence of assaults since the shutdown began.

"This is unacceptable," McNeill said.

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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti, Mary Clare Jalonick, Rebecca Santana and Ben Finley successful Washington, Lekan Oyekanmi successful Houston, Wyatte Grantham-Philips successful New York, Rio Yamat successful Las Vegas, Russ Bynum successful Savannah, Georgia, and Gabriela Aoun Angueira successful San Diego contributed to this report.