Trump is paying TSA agents — but where is the money coming from?

After weeks of long lines at airports and wrangling in Congress, Transportation Security Administration officials started getting paid earlier this week, thanks to an executive order from President Donald Trump.

Trump’s move to bypass Congress — given authority over federal spending under the U.S. Constitution — Unilaterally paying airport security guards is a momentary reprieve. Negotiations over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which has been closed since February, Congress was largely halted while it was on recess for two weeks.

The paychecks raise a number of questions: Where does the money Trump uses come from? How much is available? And if Congress doesn’t reach a deal soon, how long can Trump keep paying TSA agents?

Trump’s executive order It directs the Homeland Security secretary and the White House Director of Management and Budget to “use funds that have a reasonable and reasonable connection to TSA operations to provide compensation and benefits that would have accrued to TSA employees absent the Democrat-led DHS shutdown.”

The Trump administration confirmed the money came from last year’s Republican tax and spending bill, called the Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“Unlike the actions taken during the initial Democratic shutdown (i.e., paying the troops), President Trump has determined that Congressional Democrats have created an emergency that cannot be allowed to continue,” a senior administration official said via email.

The White House did not specify exactly where the money came from in the tax and spending bill, but Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy, said: Center for American ProgressHe said there was only one reasonable episode the administration could cite.

Buried deeper 300 page size It is a section that appropriates $10 billion “for reimbursement of costs incurred in carrying out activities in support of the Department of Homeland Security’s mission to protect the borders of the United States.”

“They have some money. A huge slush fund. But you couldn’t use it.” [just] anything,” Kogan said.

Trump has gotten creative about paying some federal employees in the past. During last fall’s total government shutdown, it received a $130 million gift from a donor to pay the U.S. military, along with unspent research and development funds. Although Trump did not identify the private donor The New York Times reported He said he was billionaire Trump supporter Timothy Mellon.

Democrats have also said they want TSA agents to be paid, while Trump’s latest unilateral move to pay federal workers without Congress allocating the money first has sparked alarm.

“I’m glad this administration finally chose to pay these workers after choosing not to for 41 days. Management must provide an explanation of what funds it used to pay these workers after falsely claiming it could not do so.” Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee. he said in a statement The day Trump announced his plans.

Kogan believes there is still much of the $10 billion in DHS funding from last year’s tax and spending package. He estimated that the cost of funding the TSA could be around $140 million a week, meaning the White House could continue funding the agency for a year and not run out of money.

But should it be?

Devin O’Connor, a senior investigator Center on Budget and Policy PrioritiesHe said there were real questions about the legality of such a move.

“The administration has not provided any real clarity publicly about what they are doing that would even allow someone to understand whether what they are doing is legal or not,” O’Connor said. “They haven’t addressed this publicly in any way.”

“When Congress provided the $10 billion, it is clear that it did not intend for those funds to be used to pay TSA employees,” O’Connor said.

Kogan was more pointed. He sees this as a clear violation of the Insolvency Act, a law from the 1800s that prohibits federal agencies from spending funds not appropriated by Congress.

When asked to respond to the accusation that the White House had violated the law, it turned to the Office of Management and Budget. An OMB official defended the legality of the funding via email. Ministry of Justice note This clause states that agencies “shall have substantial discretion in determining whether expenditures are consistent with the agency’s authorized purposes and therefore constitute an appropriate use of general or lump sum appropriations.”

According to Kogan, no one has ever been prosecuted under the Anti-Disability Act. And Congressional Democrats, who would normally be eager to welcome Trump into office, also don’t want to oppose the move and risk cutting TSA agents’ pay, given the political unpopularity of long airport queues.

Kogan said, “No one can stand. No one can stop this. Likewise, last time there was no one to stop Trump from making illegal payments to the military.” he said. “This will be one of his billions of illegal budgetary actions.”

Trump appears to have an executive order waiting times made easier at airport security this week, at least for now.

“Most TSA employees” received a retroactive paycheck this week “that includes at least two full paychecks” for recent missed pay periods, DHS Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Lauren Bis said in an email.

More than 500 officers left TSA as a result of missed checks triggered by the shutdown, leaving thousands unemployed, Bis said.

“A small population may experience a slight delay for a variety of reasons, including financial institutions’ processing times or direct deposit issues. We are working aggressively with USDA’s National Financial Center to complete processing of half of the paychecks they owe from pay period 3 as quickly as possible,” Bis said. he said.

It’s unclear how long TSA will continue to be paid through DHS funding as Congress continues to push to unite around a deal.

Last week, no senators objected to the proposal to fully fund DHS except some for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, sending the proposal to the House for final approval. The move allowed the Senate to effectively end the shutdown and leave the city for the previously scheduled recess, while also easing long waits at airports across the country ahead of a busy travel period in early April for Easter and Passover.

That agreement angered House Republicans, who refused to consider the Senate’s compromise and instead chose to pass their own stopgap spending measure that would continue funding for all DHS, including ICE and CBP, through May 22 and send it back to the Senate.

By then the Senate had already left Washington. It guarantees long-term closure. Democrats have vowed to block any package that includes funding for immigration enforcement without changes to the agency’s practices, and senators have dispersed across the country and the world for the holidays.

The White House has called for Congress to return early after recess, but leaders of both chambers have not signaled any plans to do so.

Trump weighed in on Wednesday via TruthSocial On Wednesday, he called on congressional Republicans to bypass Democrats and use the budget reconciliation process — a procedural tool that requires only a simple majority in the Senate for spending measures to pass — to fund ICE and CBP.

“I want the bill on my desk no later than June 1. Our Law Enforcement and the American People should not have to wait until Democrats see the logic or find out the hard way through the Polls,” Trump wrote.

— Megan Cassella contributed to this story.