What to know about Trump's executive order to pay TSA officers and its impact on airport security lines

By — John Raby, Associated Press John Raby, Associated Press By — Matt Sedensky, Associated Press Matt Sedensky, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter What to know about Trump's executive order to pay TSA officers and its impact on airport security lines Nation Mar 28, 2026 2:37 PM EDT With spring break in full swing, airline passengers continued to wait it out at major U.S. airports after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pay Transportation Security Administration officers aimed at alleviating long security lines. Trump's executive order on Friday instructed the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers immediately, although it's unclear when the impact of that move will start to be felt at airports. The signing came at a busy travel time of the year, with spring breaks at school districts and colleges and the upcoming Passover and Easter holidays. READ MORE: Why do ICE agents get paid during the partial government shutdown, but not TSA? Betty Mitchell arrived at Philadelphia International Airport at 12:30 a.m. Saturday for a 5 a.m. flight to visit family, but she said the airline desk did not open until 3 a.m. Once it did, there was a sudden influx of passengers to squeeze into the TSA screening lines. "All at once it became a mad house," Mitchell said. She waited nearly three hours to get through TSA but missed her flight. She was able to board the next available one. "It was crazy long lines," she said. "Never have I seen it that long. If the airlines work with TSA in these trouble times, maybe it would help the public." What's the current situation on the ground? Some passengers with very early flights on Saturday reported having little problem getting through airport security lines. But that may have been an anomaly. Others at some of the busiest airports wrote on social media that security lines were growing exponentially longer by the...