\nNEWS: President Trump tells me Senate bill that didn\u2019t fund ICE, CBP \u201cnot appropriate\u201d<\/p>\n
Just got off the phone with POTUS:
\u00a0
President Trump says of Senate bill that didn\u2019t fund ICE or CBP:
\u00a0
\u201cWell, it wasn’t good. It wasn’t appropriate. Now what they should do is they should\u2026<\/p>\n\u2014 Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) March 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
And so President Fire Alarm did what he always does: Shout \u201cEMERGENCY!\u201d and then claim the power to break the law.<\/p>\n
On Friday, he signed an executive order<\/a> instructing newly minted DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to pay TSA agents, despite the fact that there\u2019s no money appropriated to do it.<\/p>\n
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Decrying \u201ccongressional Democrats\u2019 reckless decision to prioritize criminal illegal aliens over American citizens,\u201d Trump ordered Mullin to \u201cto use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to provide TSA employees with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a).\u201d<\/p>\n
Usually Trump just gestures vaguely in the direction of Article II of the Constitution and claims the power to command the sun to rise in the west, so perhaps he\u2019s due one muted cheer for pointing to the actual code. But that statutory cite is quite a head-scratcher. Section 1301(a) says only that \u201cAppropriations shall be applied only to the objects for which the appropriations were made except as otherwise provided by law.\u201d Trump is specifically ordering DHS to apply appropriations to objects for which they were not<\/em> made \u2014 effectively citing the rule he\u2019s breaking as justification for breaking it.<\/p>\n
CNN<\/a> reports that Trump intends to siphon off cash for TSA from the deportation slush fund in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which is keeping ICE\u2019s goons paid during the DHS shutdown<\/a>. Congress appropriated that $75 billion for ICE and CBP specifically as multi-year or no-year funding, which doesn\u2019t expire at the end of the fiscal year and isn\u2019t subject to the annual appropriations cycle. So when DHS funding lapsed in February, ICE and CBP kept spending because they had a separate, still-active pot of money that the shutdown couldn\u2019t touch.<\/p>\n
The theory here is that airport security has a \u201creasonable and logical nexus\u201d to border operations \u2014 a test that appears nowhere in the statute, nowhere in relevant caselaw, and that the White House invented wholesale for the occasion. But maybe if you take several shots of Everclear and squint real hard, working the X-ray belt in Toledo counts as border patrol activity and can be paid for out of OBBBA.<\/p>\n
Sadly, Tom \u201cCava\u201d Homan was still sober Sunday morning when he sat down with CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper, protesting that he was but a simple policeman, who knows nothing about the law.<\/p>\n
\n \n\nTAPPER: If Trump had the power to pay TSA agents this whole time, why only start going it now?HOMAN: Look, I don’t understand \u2014 I’m a cop \u2014 I don’t understand the whole appropriations language, appropriations law<\/p>\n
\u2014 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)<\/a> 2026-03-29T13:24:56.323Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
There is no universe in which the OBBBA funds can legally be used to pay TSA agents. The Antideficiency Act bars federal agencies from obligating or spending funds before they are appropriated or in excess of the amount approved by Congress. And putting in your executive order that you\u2019ll \u201cadjust applicable funding accounts within DHS\u201d once Congress appropriates money for TSA doesn\u2019t fix the problem.<\/p>\n
Under the Constitution, Congress has the power of the purse. The Trump administration has systematically disregarded this, ignoring congressional appropriations and ordering the shutdown of everything from Voice of America to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Particularly in this moment, Democrats have an affirmative obligation to use all their leverage over the budget to control how tax dollars are spent.<\/p>\n
Right now, Democrats want an agreement that ICE and CBP will: quit pretending that administrative warrants it signs for itself are the same as judicial warrants; take off the masks and put on badges that identify them; and quit conducting raids in sensitive locations, like hospitals, churches, and schools. Trump wants to keep doing those things, and he\u2019s pretending that he can cancel out Congress\u2019s leverage with accounting tricks.<\/p>\n
And so it\u2019s a bit disappointing to see Democrats asking why Trump didn\u2019t steal the money \u2014 and their own power! \u2014 sooner<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\n \n\nAndy Kim: “Homan did an excellent job dodging your question about why Trump didn’t start paying the TSA agents sooner if he had the authority all along. I know the answer to that, the American people know. It’s because he doesn’t care about them.”<\/p>\n
\u2014 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)<\/a> 2026-03-29T14:41:06.523Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\u201cTom Homan did an excellent job of dodging your question earlier in the show when he said that he doesn\u2019t know why Trump didn\u2019t start paying the TSA agents sooner if they had the authority all along,\u201d New Jersey Senator Andy Kim replied. \u201cWell, I know the answer to that. The American people know it\u2019s because he didn\u2019t care about them, that he cared about ICE. He cares about his efforts to antagonize and assault the American people in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senator Kim is great, but this answer is terrible<\/em>. The reason Trump didn\u2019t steal the money sooner was because it\u2019s flatly illegal and he was hoping Congress would buckle and give him the money with no strings attached. When Democrats used their leverage to make the shutdown unpleasant, he rejected any compromise and effectively kicked over the table.<\/p>\n
By validating that gambit and complaining only about its timing, Democrats are giving up their own power to get ICE under control. As Senate Majority Leader Thune admitted<\/a>, Trump\u2019s illegal order \u201ctakes the immediate pressure off\u201d Republicans to negotiate with Democrats, allowing everyone to leave town for a two-week recess without getting screamed at in the airport.<\/p>\n
Obviously, TSA workers deserve to be paid. But the law requires them to be paid by an act of Congress, not a presidential raid on border security funds. Framing the debate as a question of why the president didn\u2019t steal the money faster is like a little old lady tut-tutting at a mugger for failing to snatch her handbag at a reasonable hour. Congress has the power of the purse, and they need to keep socking that mugger in the nose when he tries to grab it!<\/p>\n
\nLiz Dye<\/a>\u00a0produces the Law and Chaos\u00a0Substack\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0You can subscribe by clicking the logo:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n
The post Dems Scold Trump For Not Stealing Money Sooner<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by MANDEL NGAN\/AFP via Getty Images)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n As the DHS funding lapse drags on, American airports are buckling. TSA agents haven\u2019t been paid for six weeks and are calling out sick in record numbers \u2014 some airports have more than a third of staff MIA, and more than 500 TSA agents have quit altogether. This weekend saw hours-long security lines, with travelers arriving four hours early and still missing their flights.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s first brain wave was to send in ICE agents, who are<\/em> getting paid. Turns out a squad of untrained thugs whose main job is civil rights violations weren\u2019t much help. Senate Republicans begged him to sign a partial DHS bill that would have funded TSA but not ICE and CBP, but he insisted that they ought to kill the filibuster instead.<\/p>\n
And so President Fire Alarm did what he always does: Shout \u201cEMERGENCY!\u201d and then claim the power to break the law.<\/p>\n
On Friday, he signed an executive order<\/a> instructing newly minted DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to pay TSA agents, despite the fact that there\u2019s no money appropriated to do it.<\/p>\n
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Decrying \u201ccongressional Democrats\u2019 reckless decision to prioritize criminal illegal aliens over American citizens,\u201d Trump ordered Mullin to \u201cto use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to provide TSA employees with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a).\u201d<\/p>\n
Usually Trump just gestures vaguely in the direction of Article II of the Constitution and claims the power to command the sun to rise in the west, so perhaps he\u2019s due one muted cheer for pointing to the actual code. But that statutory cite is quite a head-scratcher. Section 1301(a) says only that \u201cAppropriations shall be applied only to the objects for which the appropriations were made except as otherwise provided by law.\u201d Trump is specifically ordering DHS to apply appropriations to objects for which they were not<\/em> made \u2014 effectively citing the rule he\u2019s breaking as justification for breaking it.<\/p>\n
CNN<\/a> reports that Trump intends to siphon off cash for TSA from the deportation slush fund in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which is keeping ICE\u2019s goons paid during the DHS shutdown<\/a>. Congress appropriated that $75 billion for ICE and CBP specifically as multi-year or no-year funding, which doesn\u2019t expire at the end of the fiscal year and isn\u2019t subject to the annual appropriations cycle. So when DHS funding lapsed in February, ICE and CBP kept spending because they had a separate, still-active pot of money that the shutdown couldn\u2019t touch.<\/p>\n
The theory here is that airport security has a \u201creasonable and logical nexus\u201d to border operations \u2014 a test that appears nowhere in the statute, nowhere in relevant caselaw, and that the White House invented wholesale for the occasion. But maybe if you take several shots of Everclear and squint real hard, working the X-ray belt in Toledo counts as border patrol activity and can be paid for out of OBBBA.<\/p>\n
Sadly, Tom \u201cCava\u201d Homan was still sober Sunday morning when he sat down with CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper, protesting that he was but a simple policeman, who knows nothing about the law.<\/p>\n
There is no universe in which the OBBBA funds can legally be used to pay TSA agents. The Antideficiency Act bars federal agencies from obligating or spending funds before they are appropriated or in excess of the amount approved by Congress. And putting in your executive order that you\u2019ll \u201cadjust applicable funding accounts within DHS\u201d once Congress appropriates money for TSA doesn\u2019t fix the problem.<\/p>\n
Under the Constitution, Congress has the power of the purse. The Trump administration has systematically disregarded this, ignoring congressional appropriations and ordering the shutdown of everything from Voice of America to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Particularly in this moment, Democrats have an affirmative obligation to use all their leverage over the budget to control how tax dollars are spent.<\/p>\n
Right now, Democrats want an agreement that ICE and CBP will: quit pretending that administrative warrants it signs for itself are the same as judicial warrants; take off the masks and put on badges that identify them; and quit conducting raids in sensitive locations, like hospitals, churches, and schools. Trump wants to keep doing those things, and he\u2019s pretending that he can cancel out Congress\u2019s leverage with accounting tricks.<\/p>\n
And so it\u2019s a bit disappointing to see Democrats asking why Trump didn\u2019t steal the money \u2014 and their own power! \u2014 sooner<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\u201cTom Homan did an excellent job of dodging your question earlier in the show when he said that he doesn\u2019t know why Trump didn\u2019t start paying the TSA agents sooner if they had the authority all along,\u201d New Jersey Senator Andy Kim replied. \u201cWell, I know the answer to that. The American people know it\u2019s because he didn\u2019t care about them, that he cared about ICE. He cares about his efforts to antagonize and assault the American people in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senator Kim is great, but this answer is terrible<\/em>. The reason Trump didn\u2019t steal the money sooner was because it\u2019s flatly illegal and he was hoping Congress would buckle and give him the money with no strings attached. When Democrats used their leverage to make the shutdown unpleasant, he rejected any compromise and effectively kicked over the table.<\/p>\n
By validating that gambit and complaining only about its timing, Democrats are giving up their own power to get ICE under control. As Senate Majority Leader Thune admitted<\/a>, Trump\u2019s illegal order \u201ctakes the immediate pressure off\u201d Republicans to negotiate with Democrats, allowing everyone to leave town for a two-week recess without getting screamed at in the airport.<\/p>\n
Obviously, TSA workers deserve to be paid. But the law requires them to be paid by an act of Congress, not a presidential raid on border security funds. Framing the debate as a question of why the president didn\u2019t steal the money faster is like a little old lady tut-tutting at a mugger for failing to snatch her handbag at a reasonable hour. Congress has the power of the purse, and they need to keep socking that mugger in the nose when he tries to grab it!<\/p>\n
\nLiz Dye<\/a>\u00a0produces the Law and Chaos\u00a0Substack\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0You can subscribe by clicking the logo:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
As the DHS funding lapse drags on, American airports are buckling. TSA agents haven\u2019t been paid for six weeks and are calling out sick in record numbers \u2014 some airports have more than a third of staff MIA, and more than 500 TSA agents have quit altogether. This weekend saw hours-long security lines, with travelers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":147568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/law-and-chaos-logo-liz-dye-300x153-uSObiM.jpg?fit=300%2C153&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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