(AFP) – Congestion at US airports is expected to ease this week after President Donald Trump ordered security officers be paid despite a partial government shutdown. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security expired on February 14 because of a budget standoff in Congress over controversial immigration enforcement operations carried out by its component agencies. Since then, thousands of federal employees have been placed on unpaid leave, while those deemed essential are working without pay.
Air travel had been hard-hit, with passengers waiting hours at checkpoints due to high rates of absenteeism and resignations at the Transportation Security Agency (TSA). Trump on Friday signed an executive order to ensure TSA agents get paid, skirting Congress and its power of the purse. On Monday, the union that represents federal workers said pay had started flowing. “They haven’t received all their back pay, but they have started seeing their payments,” said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100.
The DHS funding lapse entered its 45th day on Monday, a record in the United States, although government shutdowns typically impact broader segments of the federal workforce. The shutdown looks set to drag on: members of Congress began a two-week vacation after failing to end the partial shutdown on Friday. In the Senate, lawmakers from both parties approved funding for all DHS agencies except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Republicans in the House of Representatives rejected the Senate text, reaffirming their support for ICE and CBP and passing a bill that would fund the entire DHS for 60 days, allowing time for continued negotiations with the Democrats.
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