United States President Donald Trump said he will sign an executive order to pay 50,000 airport security workers.
This comes as a deal in Congress to address staff shortages has led to TSA officers walking off the job, and nearly 500 airport security officers quitting.
“I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump said.
“It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it!”
It is unclear how long the funding will last or if Trump is tapping funding for the Homeland Security Department approved last year as part of a massive tax and spending bill.
Republicans have rejected repeated Democratic proposals to fund TSA separately while negotiating over reforms for how Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents operate.
On Wednesday, more than 11% of TSA officers did not show up for work.
Absenteeism reached higher rates of 30% or more at New York's JFK, Houston's two airports, and airports in Baltimore, New Orleans and Atlanta.
Airlines for America (A4A) CEO Chris Sununu welcomed Trump’s executive order, but said Congress’s job is not done just because TSA agents are paid.
“It’s critical for lawmakers to enact a permanent solution to ensure this chaos never happens again,” Sununu said.
“Specifically, Congress should pass the Keep America Flying Act, which would guarantee TSA officers are paid through government shutdowns, in addition to the Aviation Funding Solvency Act and the Aviation Funding Stability Act, which would guarantee air traffic controllers receive the same paycheck protections.”
Before announcing the executive order, Trump planned the deployment of ICE Agents to airports and said he was considering deploying the National Guard.
Senate Republicans and Democrats continue to debate a proposal that would allow funding to resume for TSA and other Department of Homeland Security agencies while keeping some immigration enforcement funding on hold.
TSA agents walking off the job caused long lines to form at major airports.
