On April 3-4, 2026, Trump signed executive memos ordering the Treasury to pay all DHS employees their full compensation despite the ongoing DHS shutdown — now 48+ days. This includes 35,000+ workers across FEMA, Coast Guard civilians, and CISA cybersecurity staff.
Legal experts say this directly violates the Antideficiency Act (1870), which prohibits spending money Congress hasn't appropriated. The Constitution is explicit: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law” (Article I, Section 9).
The earlier order to pay TSA workers was the trial run. This April 4 memo expanded it to all DHS employees — unilaterally spending federal money without congressional authorization. The precedent effectively renders congressional appropriations power meaningless: if the president can simply order the Treasury to pay workers Congress hasn't funded, the power of the purse no longer belongs to Congress.
No one has ever been prosecuted under the Antideficiency Act. The congressional stalemate over DHS funding continues — the House won't vote until April 13. Trump created the shutdown by demanding the SAVE Act, blocked a bipartisan deal, and is now bypassing the constitutional process he manipulated.