Presidential Memorandum March 27, 2026

Paying Our Great Transportation Security Administration Officers and Employees

💡

In Simple Terms

This order tells Homeland Security to find legal funds to pay TSA workers during the shutdown. It aims to keep airport security running and cut long wait times.

Summary

President Donald J. Trump issued this memorandum directing the Secretary of Homeland Security, working with the Office of Management and Budget, to use legally available funds connected to TSA operations to pay Transportation Security Administration employees the compensation and benefits they would have received during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. The order is aimed at TSA staff, including airport security officers, who were working without pay during the funding lapse. Trump states he is taking this step because he has determined that the situation is an emergency that is compromising national security, citing long airport wait times, employee departures, and rising absences. The memorandum also says that once regular TSA funding is restored, DHS should adjust its accounts as allowed by law to keep operations aligned with planned spending.

Official Record

Awaiting Federal Register

Published on WhiteHouse.gov

View on WhiteHouse.gov

March 27, 2026

Pending Federal Register publication

Analysis & Impact

💡 How This May Affect You

Working families and individuals may face shorter airport lines and fewer disruptions if TSA staff keep working.
Small business owners may see steadier business travel, shipping, and customer trips if airport delays ease.
Students and recent graduates may face fewer travel problems for school, interviews, internships, or moving.
Retirees and seniors may have smoother airport trips, though broader shutdown-related service problems could remain.
Urban hubs may benefit most first; suburban and rural areas may still see limited flights or staffing strain.

🏢 Key Stakeholders

TSA officers and employees benefit most, receiving pay continuity during shutdown disruptions.
Air travelers and airport operators benefit from reduced delays, staffing shortages, security risks.
Department of Homeland Security and OMB are key implementers, reallocating lawful funds.
Airlines, airports, and travel-sector businesses are highly affected by screening bottlenecks.
TSA employee unions and aviation security advocates gain leverage, while shutdown critics face pressure.

📈 What to Expect

TSA pay may resume quickly if DHS and OMB identify legally usable funds.
Sick-outs and attrition likely ease somewhat, reducing extreme airport wait times.
Legal and appropriations disputes may limit implementation speed or scope.
If sustained, staffing stabilizes and passenger screening delays gradually normalize.
Congress or courts may clarify presidents’ authority to redirect funds during shutdowns.
DHS budgets could face later reallocations or shortfalls to backfill TSA compensation.

📚 Historical Context

Similar to Reagan’s 1981 and Clinton’s 1995 shutdown management, but targeted pay only for TSA.
Builds on “excepted employees” practice, modifying precedent by seeking pay during, not after, shutdown.
Echoes Obama’s 2013 shutdown flexibility efforts, but uses intra-agency fund transfers more aggressively.
Historically notable: first shutdown-era presidential directive centered on aviation security workforce retention and morale.
Reverses normal congressional sequencing by attempting compensation before appropriations restoration, testing Anti-Deficiency boundaries.