TSA workers across the country have gone weeks without paychecks as the partial government shutdown continues to impact every agency under the Department of Homeland Security. But after media mogul Tyler Perry attempted to ease the financial stress for some workers, higher-ups at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport have officially stepped in.
Suggested Reading
Some TSA workers began getting their paychecks starting Monday (March 20) after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pay the thousands of airport employees. Before the president’s March 27 order, however, Perry stepped in to try to save the day.
According to 11 Alive, Perry pulled up to Hartsfield-Jackson to try to hand out cash to employees but was immediately stopped. Federal law prevents government employees from taking cash offerings while on the clock, or else it’ll be considered a bribe. Eventually, Perry returned with loads of gift cards, which TSA agents accepted during the shutdown.
Perry’s team confirmed a total $250,000 was handed out in gift cards– $1,000 each– to employees in Atlanta. But after President Trump’s order to restore regular paychecks, leaders at Hartsfield-Jackson have ordered the employees to return the cards.
According to WNEP News, Perry worked with airport management and human resources before he started handing out the gift cards. In response, the airport’s federal security director raised multiple concerns. Still, sources told the outlet Perry’s gift was “a huge morale booster” amid the longest partial shutdown in American history as agents haven’t been paid since Feb. 14.
A DHS spokesperson told the New York Post the director made the right call. “TSA officers are prohibited from accepting gifts at screening locations. Even during a shutdown, cash or cash equivalents cannot be accepted on behalf of the agency,” the spokesperson said. “The effects of the Democrats’ Reckless DHS shutdown are hitting frontline officers hard—some are sleeping in their cars, selling blood to make ends meet, and struggling to pay rent. Democrats must re-open DHS now.”
Republicans and Democrats have been pointing their fingers at each other as they continue to fail to agree on funding for DHS. We previously told you under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) operation in Minneapolis was seen as a complete disaster. Two Americans, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, were killed at the hands of ICE agents, and this ultimately forced Trump to pull the plug on the whole thing.
Democrats demanded funding for ICE be reallocated after their killings. Republicans on the other hand have refused… Cue the federal shutdown. It’s unclear exactly how many of the thousands of TSA employees have started to receive their six weeks worth of backpay. In the meantime, the shutdown continues.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.