President Donald Trump said he will soon sign an order to ensure all Department of Homeland Security employees are paid, as the partial government shutdown continues.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said DHS workers and their families “have suffered far too long” and pledged that “help is on the way” for employees who have continued working without pay.
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Trump did not give specifics about the order or when it would go into effect. Last week, he signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to pay Transportation Security Administration agents, who had been working without pay since Feb. 14. While most TSA employees have since received at least one paycheck, workers at other DHS agencies — including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Secret Service — remain unpaid.
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Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are working on a plan to restore funding for DHS. Republican leaders say they will fully fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, excluding ICE and Border Patrol, while moving quickly on separate legislation to provide longer-term funding for those agencies.
However, efforts to advance funding stalled Thursday, as the Senate passed a DHS funding bill without immigration enforcement funding, while the House took no action.
Democrats have blocked funding for DHS for more than a month, citing concerns over policies involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They have called for agents to operate without masks, display identification and avoid enforcement actions near “sensitive locations” such as hospitals and schools.
