President Trump signed an executive order on March 26 directing the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers "immediately" despite the ongoing funding lapse [1]. One week later, the payments have been slow to arrive, the legal authority remains contested, and the staffing crisis the order was meant to resolve has not reversed.

At least 480 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began on February 13, according to testimony from acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill [2]. On a single day in late March, 11.6% of the TSA workforce -- more than 3,200 officers -- called out sick nationwide. Houston, Atlanta, and New Orleans were hit hardest [3]. The White House memorandum ordering payment cited the president's authority to direct agency spending, but constitutional scholars note that the Appropriations Clause reserves spending power to Congress [4].

The executive order solves the political problem -- the president can say he acted. It does not solve the operational problem. Officers who have already quit are not returning because of a memorandum. Officers who remain are working under legal ambiguity about whether they will actually be paid, and when. Spring break travel compounded the chaos, and summer travel season begins in weeks.

The government that launched astronauts toward the Moon this week cannot pay the people who screen passengers at the airport.

-- Maya Calloway, New York