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“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 in a Truth Social post. “It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it! I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also, ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports,” he said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Hill Trump would sign the executive order “as soon as it’s ready. A senior administration official said the money provided by President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will be used to pay TSA officials. (here)
All of this came about after months of stalemate in Congress over the funding of the Department of Homeland Security. And that was possible in the aftermath of the violence in Minnesota (especially) that culminated in tragic deaths that created an atmosphere of disapproval against which the Trump Administration could offer little that proved effective. The immediate predicate was action in the Senate that included Republican Senators that was rejected in the House.
House Republicans voted Friday evening to pass a short-term funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security that has no viable path in the Senate and is likely to extend the shutdown stalemate on Capitol Hill. The vote of 213-203 came after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., rejected the Senate-passed bill, which would fund all of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Funding for DHS lapsed in mid-February. He called the Senate measure “a joke,” placing full blame for it on Democrats, even though Republicans control the Senate and the bill passed by unanimous consent early Friday morning. (NBC News)
The gist of the Executive Order is this:
Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to provide TSA employees with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a).
A few brief thoughts:
1. The spiral of political strategies that had, at its center, the violent events of ICE agents in Minnesota, has proven that in the U.S. old formulas no longer guarantee the sort of popular responses that can be harvested as political action.
You may not have noticed, but we are currently under a partial government shutdown. In an effort to use whatever shards of power they hold to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Democrats in Congress have refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unless the Trump administration agrees to changes in how the immigration agency operates, including a ban on masks, body camera requirements, a use-of-force code, and others. (Brennan Center)
As much as the situation in Minneapolis was both tragic and explosive, it has proven impossible to turn it into a "George Floyd" moment or momentum for change. That either suggests the inability of Democrats and their allies to capitalize discursively (at least) on those events, or that the events did not lend themselves to that sort of mass mobilization (at least in sentiment). . . . or both. "Five years after the 2020 racial justice movement prompted a wave of cultural changes and then an enduring political backlash, many Democrats are signaling that they now recognize how skillful Republicans can be in using scenes of unrest — whether limited or widespread, accurate or not — to cast liberal lawmakers as tolerant of lawlessness." (New York Times)
2. The Democrats are not the only collective that embraces repetition without analysis. Republicans well knew that petty meanness is a "bad look" and is significantly unaligned with American values. It is likely that the meanness of of the election of President Trump's policies during the first term contributed to the election results in 2020. I noted this in "As the Trump Administration Fades into the Shadows of History (and Myth) Lessons Left Unlearned" (November 2020).
2. Cruelty never pays. The temptation to be cruel runs deep in American politics--of both the left and the right. The Trump Administration gave in to the temptation of cruelty. It is hard to conjecture the reasons (though in the construction of Mr. Trump as the Prince of Demons it will likely be ascribed to some sort of immoral lust, which is appropriate for demons in general, and suitable for the much larger appetites of princes among demons). The approach to the important issue of migration proved a lasting case in point, and especially the policy toward migrant children. There were others. But a reputation for cruelty will be remembered. But its temptations are also easily adopted by those hear their own demon-song as the singing of the choir of angels. The left enjoys ruining individuals on the basis of accusation related to deviations from their strategically advanced orthodoxies. And they have found willing accomplices in business (not an obvious ally) but there is a business case to be made for serving as the instrument of orthodoxy when, like the inquisition in medieval Europe, its effects tends to fall on individuals and the victims tend to be in the way of the ambitions of others. ("As the Trump Administration Fades into the Shadows of History (and Myth) Lessons Left Unlearned" )
This was a crisis of the Administration's own making, one that got in the way of the fulfillment of its own migration policy goals.
3. Playing "chicken" is indeed a high stales political gambit. It was never clear who was going to be blamed for the inconvenience caused by the defunding strategies over the Department of Homeland Security. Part of the problem was the misalignment between TSA and some of them motivating foundations of the strategy (migration policy tactics). It is around the risk-reward calculus of chicken that one might be able to understand the last set of actions in the Senate and the House. As the picture that starts this post suggests, the misalignment between the source of the funding issue (ICE) and its effects (TSA) has not worked to the advantage of Democrats. At the same time the Trump Administration has moved just enough to take the edge of tactics and actions that crossed the line into cruelty.
4. The Executive Order changes the calculus and chicken. There is a risk that if the Executive Order is challenged (in courts), both the protagonists and the courts may be "blamed" for the consequences (airport chaos). This may be one of those actions where a expected challenge to the authority of the President to act via Executive Order may be more politically dangerous than inaction--int he short run. Its long term effects in the long run may point in the other direction, at least for those seeking either to curb Presidential authority or the protection of the role of Congress.
5. And that brings one back to the starting point of all of this--something that can be easily forgotten after so many months. Yet events may have overtaken the issue of ICE tactics, and more generally President Trump's migration policy as it is manifested within the U.S.
The Text of the President's Order follows.
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
SUBJECT: Paying Our Great Transportation Security Administration Officers and Employees
As the Democrat-caused shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues well into its sixth week, America’s air travel system has reached its breaking point. This is an unprecedented emergency situation. Currently, more than 60,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees, including approximately 50,000 transportation security officers who perform security functions at domestic airports, are not being paid due to congressional Democrats’ reckless decision to prioritize criminal illegal aliens over American citizens and shut down DHS until their demand to prohibit enforcement of Federal immigration law is met.
Since the shutdown began, nearly 500 transportation security officers have left their positions, and thousands more have begun to call out sick at record rates due to lack of pay. As a result, security wait times at some airports have reached untenable lengths of three or more hours. These increased wait times, combined with declining morale among TSA staff, unacceptably heighten the risk of security vulnerabilities within our domestic travel system and has negatively impacted countless Americans.
If Democrats in the Congress will not act to honor the service of our TSA officers, who are now performing their critical public safety responsibilities without knowing whether they will be able to buy food for their families or pay their rent, then my Administration will take action. As President of the United States, I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security.
Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to provide TSA employees with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a).
Once regular funding for TSA has been restored, every effort should be made, as authorized by law, to adjust applicable funding accounts within DHS to ensure the continuation of DHS operations and activities consistent with planned expenditures prior to the lapse.
Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
DONALD J. TRUMP
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