WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would soon sign an emergency order to pay all employees at the Department of Homeland Security who have worked without pay since mid-February as Congress has failed to reach a funding deal.
“I will soon sign an order to pay ALL of the incredible employees at the Department of Homeland Security,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The US Senate cleared the way early on Thursday for the House of Representatives to pass a DHS funding bill through September 30 that would end a nearly seven-week partial shutdown. The US House met on Thursday but did not vote to approve a funding bill.
Tens of thousands of civilians at the US Coast Guard, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies have not been paid since the government funding standoff began in February.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin praised Trump’s action “to ensure the hardworking men and women across DHS are paid.” About 80,000 sworn law enforcement agents like the Secret Service, immigration officers and others have been paid during the shutdown.
