President Trump said Thursday he plans to sign an executive order directing payment to all Department of Homeland Security employees, marking his second attempt in a week to sidestep Congress during the record-length DHS shutdown.
"I will soon sign an order to pay ALL of the incredible employees at the Department of Homeland Security," Trump wrote on Truth Social. He framed the move as relief for federal workers who "have continued to work hard, and do their part to protect and defend our Country."
The announcement came one day after House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune unveiled a plan to end the shutdown. It also follows Trump's declaration last week that he would restore pay for TSA workers through executive action.
Trump's strategy to pay federal workers without congressional approval could violate the Antideficiency Act, a 150-year-old law that requires government spending to be authorized by Congress. The statute reinforces the constitutional principle that lawmakers control federal finances.
The Senate sent its DHS funding proposal to the House on Thursday, though the plan excludes Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection from its scope. Passage remains uncertain even with Johnson's support, as hardline Republicans in the chamber have resisted the measure. Johnson previously dismissed it as a "joke."
The speaker has not indicated whether he will call lawmakers back from a two-week recess that began Monday to vote on the measure, leaving the timing and ultimate fate of the proposal unclear.
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