President Trump’s Approach Keeps Aviation Running—Congress Should Follow

Congressional dysfunction remains on full display, with lawmakers no closer to delivering a funding solution for the Department of Homeland Security.

We commend President Trump and Secretary Mullin for stepping in to ensure TSA officers are paid and checkpoint operations remain efficient at airports across the country. Their actions prevent Congress from continuing to use American travelers and critical aviation workers as political leverage during this shutdown.

Twice in just six months, partisan disputes unrelated to aviation have disrupted our nation’s air travel system—costing the U.S. economy billions of dollars and impacting tens of millions of travelers. The lesson is clear: it is not a winning strategy—for air travelers, aviation stability, or the economy—to rely on Congress to do its job and pay frontline aviation safety and security personnel.

Moving forward, we should adopt President Trump’s approach during all future shutdowns and ensure critical aviation workers are paid.

We are calling on Congress to pass legislation modeled after President Trump’s actions to guarantee pay for TSA officers and air traffic controllers during all future government shutdowns. This will protect them—and the traveling public—from endless chaos.