29. April 2026

White House: Funds to Pay TSA and Other Homeland Security Workers Will ‘Soon Run Out’

WASHINGTON — The White House is warning that funding used to pay Department of Homeland Security personnel is on the verge of running out, raising the prospect of airport disruptions and broader national security concerns as the House struggles to advance legislation to end what has become the longest lapse in funding for the agency in U.S. history.

In a memo sent to lawmakers late Tuesday, the Office of Management and Budget said money that President Donald Trump has relied on to keep Transportation Security Administration officers and other DHS personnel on the job through executive actions could be exhausted as soon as May. The administration urged the House to swiftly approve a budget resolution passed by the Senate during an all-night session last week, describing it as a necessary step toward restoring full funding for the department.

“DHS will soon run out of critical operating funds, placing essential personnel and operations at risk,” the memo said.

The warning intensifies pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose slim Republican majority has been unable to break through internal divisions that have stalled progress on a range of legislative priorities, including DHS funding. The chamber has been largely at a standstill for weeks as GOP factions clash over spending levels and policy demands tied to immigration enforcement.

House leaders are expected to bring the Senate-passed budget resolution to a vote as early as Wednesday. The measure would initiate a multistep process needed to ultimately fund the department, though it does not itself provide immediate appropriations. The White House cautioned Republican lawmakers against making changes that could delay its passage and further prolong the funding gap.

“Restoring funding for the Department of Homeland Security has never been more urgent, as demonstrated by recent events,” the memo said, pointing to a weekend security incident in which a man armed with guns and knives attempted to breach the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner attended by Trump, the vice president and senior Cabinet officials.

The Department of Homeland Security has been operating without regular appropriations for more than two months. The impasse stems from a standoff with Democrats, who have refused to support funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection without policy changes following the deaths of Americans protesting the administration’s deportation agenda.

Despite the lapse, some components of DHS — particularly immigration enforcement agencies — have continued operating with the help of approximately $170 billion approved by Congress last year as part of Trump’s tax cuts legislation. Those funds have helped sustain operations at ICE and Border Patrol.

Other parts of the department, including the TSA, have been more directly affected and have depended on stopgap measures ordered by the president to ensure workers continue receiving paychecks.

But those temporary measures are reaching their limits. With DHS payroll costs exceeding $1.6 billion every two weeks, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, officials say the available funding is rapidly being depleted, adding urgency to the administration’s call for congressional action.

Absent a resolution, officials warn that the strain could begin to affect frontline operations, potentially leading to longer airport security lines, staffing shortages and disruptions across the nation’s transportation and border security systems.