For the second time in a matter of months, the gears of the federal government have ground to a halt, and once again, the men and women who serve on the front lines of our national security are being treated as collateral damage. Essential workers — including Transportation Security Administration agents, Department of Homeland Security personnel and Federal Emergency Management Agency field staff — are being forced to report for duty without the guarantee of a paycheck.
This is more than a fiscal impasse; it is a profound failure of leadership that spans both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. It is time to call out the reckless irresponsibility of a Democratic leadership that views government shutdowns as a legitimate tool of negotiation and a president who, despite his frequent and often controversial use of executive power, refuses to exercise that same authority to ensure our protectors are paid.
Make no mistake: The primary architects of this shutdown are the Democrats in Congress. By refusing to fund the government unless their specific demands on immigration, sanctuary city protections and restricted DHS provisions are met, they have effectively taken the federal workforce hostage.
It is a cynical and dangerous gambit. These essential workers are not high-paid bureaucrats in Washington; they are lower-paid working men and women who live paycheck to paycheck. A TSA officer typically starts at an annual salary of approximately $37,000 to $45,000. For these families, a single missed pay period is not an inconvenience — it is a crisis. It means missed rent, empty cupboards and mounting debt.
By tethering the livelihood of these workers to divisive debates over sanctuary policies, the Democrats have prioritized political optics over the basic welfare of the American worker. Using the power of the purse to paralyze the nation’s security apparatus is not “resistance”; it is a dereliction of duty.
While the Democrats have initiated this crisis, President Donald Trump is not without fault. The president has never been shy about testing the limits of executive authority. From trade tariffs to border emergency declarations, this administration has consistently bypassed traditional legislative hurdles to achieve its ends. Why, then, is that same “boldness” absent when it comes to the financial security of our essential workers?
The president has the moral, and arguably the legal, standing to issue an executive order directing the Treasury to prioritize the payment of essential personnel during a lapse in appropriations. While the Antideficiency Act generally prohibits government spending without congressional approval, the law provides exceptions for “emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.” If the work being done by TSA and DHS is critical enough to require them to work without pay, it is critical enough to justify an executive mandate to pay them.
By failing to act, the president is allowing the Democrats to maintain their leverage. He should immediately exercise his executive authority to pay all essential workers, effectively freeing the hostages and shifting the burden of the shutdown back onto the legislators where it belongs.
This is not just a labor issue; it is a national security crisis. During the 35-day shutdown in 2018-19, TSA saw unscheduled absences rise to 8% as officers struggled to find child care or fuel to get to work. When our security screenings are understaffed and our FEMA coordinators are distracted by personal financial ruin, the entire nation is vulnerable.
We are asking people to protect our borders and our airports while they wonder if they can protect their own homes from foreclosure. It is a recipe for disaster. The airlines, which are the primary beneficiaries of the labor provided by TSA and air traffic controllers, should be the first ones at the table demanding this action. The stability of the entire aviation industry — which contributes over $1 trillion to the U.S. economy — rests on the backs of these unpaid workers.
The president should act now and dare his opponents to stop him. Let the Democratic leadership explain to the American people why they would seek a court injunction from a friendly judge to block paychecks for the people keeping our skies safe.
Let the legal battle play out over whether the president can ensure public safety by paying his staff. In the court of public opinion, the president would hold the high ground. He would be the leader providing for the workers, while his opponents would be the ones filing lawsuits to keep them financially strapped.
The era of using the federal workforce as a political human shield must end. We cannot claim to value “national security” while we systematically devalue the people who provide it. Democrats must stop using the budget process to litigate immigration policy, and the president must stop waiting for a legislative “thank you” before he does the right thing.
Pay the workers. Secure the country. Put the political theater to bed once and for all.
Paul Vallas is an adviser for the Illinois Policy Institute. He ran for Chicago mayor in 2023 and was previously budget director for the city and CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
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