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AM|Morning BriefingMonday, March 30, 2026 at 10:55 AM11 min read

TSA Workers Stopped Getting Paid — Then Trump Signed an Order That Raised More Questions Than It Answered

Q: What was the TrumpMeter score for Monday, March 30, 2026?

The TrumpMeter score was 8/10. A potential Iran ceasefire order, a TSA payment crisis resolved by executive action, oil above $116, and a fresh 165-page J6 legal filing — multiple major concurrent stories hitting simultaneously.

Trump signed an emergency EO to pay TSA workers using "Big Beautiful Bill" funds as airport delays mount — but critics say Congress, controlled by his own party, caused the crisis.

Chaos Index

8/10

HIGH ALERT

A potential Iran ceasefire order, a TSA payment crisis resolved by executive action, oil above $116, and a fresh 165-page J6 legal filing — multiple major concurrent stories hitting simultaneously.

Key Developments

Here's something that doesn't happen every day in American politics: **the people screening your bags at the airport stopped getting paid**.

Not because of a hack. Not because of a bureaucratic glitch. Because Congress — controlled by Trump's own Republican Party — couldn't pass a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. [11]

And then Trump signed an executive order to fix it.

That's the story today. And it's more complicated than it looks.

Let's start with the facts.

TSA workers — the agents who run your carry-on through the scanner, check your boarding pass, and keep the nation's airports running — have been working without paychecks. Reports on X put the number of agents who quit at **500 and climbing**. [16]

Lines at airports stretched to historic lengths. Travelers faced some of the worst delays in TSA history.

The White House moved fast.

On Friday, Trump signed an emergency executive order directing DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to redirect funds and get TSA agents paid — leveraging money from what the administration calls the "One Big Beautiful Bill." [19]

Stories Driving the News

Brief #1POLICY◆ MIXED

9/10

500 TSA Agents Quit. Then Trump Signed an Order His Own Party Made Necessary

The people who screen your bags at every major airport in America stopped getting paychecks — and the fallout was immediate. **500 TSA agents quit**, according to posts on X. Lines at airports hit historic lengths. Travelers reported some of the worst delays in the agency's history. [16] On Friday, Trump signed an emergency executive order directing DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to redirect funds to get TSA workers paid again — using money from what the administration calls the "One Big Beautiful Bill." [19] White House border czar Tom Homan said paychecks could arrive "as early as Monday or Tuesday." [18] Supporters praised it as swift, decisive action. "Democrats caused this mess, Trump is cleaning it up," one user on X argued, pointing to Republican claims that Democrats blocked the DHS funding package. But a post on X from a critic — which went viral with nearly **19,000 likes** — offered a sharply different read: "TSA workers stopped getting paid because Congress couldn't pass funding. Trump signed an executive order to fix it. Problem solved. Hero moment. Except — Congress didn't go rogue. His party controls it." [11] The two sides frame it completely differently. Republicans say Democrats refused to pass DHS funding because they opposed including ICE funding in the same bill. Democrats say they offered a clean TSA-only funding bill that Trump's team rejected. [39] There's also a separate legal question: the executive order draws from funds tied to a bill that hasn't fully passed through Congress yet. Here's why this matters to you — if the funding dispute isn't resolved through legislation, the next time you fly, the agents keeping airports secure could face the same situation all over again. Executive orders can be a patch, but they're not a permanent fix.

[1][2][3]

Brief #2FOREIGN POLICY◆ MIXED

10/10

Trump Expected to Sign Iran Ceasefire Order at 4PM — Markets Already Reacting

Just 24 hours after describing "many long sought after targets" destroyed inside Iran, the situation appears to be shifting dramatically. [8] Reports circulated on X this morning that **Trump is expected to sign an executive order at 4 PM ET today as a first formal step toward a ceasefire with Iran**. [3] The White House has not officially confirmed the move as of this writing. Financial analysts on X immediately flagged the potential market impact. One posted that if true, the ceasefire order would be "giga bullish for markets" — meaning investors could pour money back into stocks that have been rattled by Middle East war fears. [4] The timing is striking. Just this weekend, Trump was publicly floating the idea of seizing **Kharg Island**, the Persian Gulf hub through which roughly 90% of Iran's oil exports move. That comment sent oil prices surging. Reports on X put **Brent crude above $116 a barrel** as of Monday morning — up sharply on fears of further escalation. [66] Meanwhile, 20 U.S. soldiers were wounded after Iranian missiles struck Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, with 2 described as very seriously wounded and 8 seriously wounded. [17] Yemen's Houthi forces also reportedly launched **11 cruise missiles toward Israel** on Monday. The region is extraordinarily tense. [Trump_donald07] Here's why this matters to you — oil above $116 a barrel flows directly into your gas tank and grocery bill. Economists are already warning that the Iran conflict will push consumer prices higher across the board. [66] A ceasefire, if confirmed, could stop that spiral — but until it's signed and holding, the price pressure is real and immediate.

[1][2]

Brief #3LEGAL● NEUTRAL

8/10

Jack Smith Filed 165 Pages on Trump — and the J6 Case Just Got a Second Life

Most people assumed the January 6th federal case against Trump was dead. It isn't. Judge Tanya Chutkan **unsealed a 165-page brief** from Special Counsel Jack Smith's team laying out the new shape of the case against the former — and current — president. [45] The brief is partially redacted, but what's visible is significant. Smith's team filed a revised "superseding" indictment that keeps all of the original charges, but narrows the specific allegations around Trump's use of the Department of Justice to advance election fraud claims. [42] The reason for the narrowing: the Supreme Court's landmark 2024 ruling in *Trump v. United States*, which granted presidents broad immunity for official acts. By removing the DOJ-related conduct from the indictment, Smith is trying to keep the remaining charges — those tied to unofficial acts — alive and legally viable. [44] Critics of Trump applauded the move. "I applaud Jack Smith for filing a superseding indictment," one observer on X wrote. "Smith removed Trump's conversations with the DOJ to comply with the Supreme Court ruling." [46] Trump allies called it exactly what they've always called it — a political persecution. They argue the case has been manipulated and prolonged by prosecutors with a political agenda. A separate legal development also drew attention: a hearing is underway in New York Supreme Court over **Smartmatic's $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News**, with Fox seeking to postpone a ruling until a separate DOJ bribery case involving the voting machine company is resolved. [47] Here's why this matters to you — the January 6th case is not over. With 165 pages of new filings, it could drag through the courts for years, shaping the legal and political landscape well beyond Trump's current term.

[1]

Brief #4POLICY◆ MIXED

7/10

DOGE Just Released 7 Years of Medicaid Data — and Invited the Public to Find the Fraud

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency made a significant move on Sunday that flew under the radar of most headline coverage. **DOGE released seven years of Medicaid spending data** — covering 2018 through 2024 — and made it publicly searchable online. [21] The idea: let ordinary Americans look through the records themselves and flag anything that looks like fraud or abuse. Newsmax reported on the release, which generated hundreds of likes and over 140 retweets. [21] Supporters called it a historic act of government transparency — exactly the kind of thing DOGE was created to do. The move comes after months of DOGE claiming to have found massive fraud across federal programs. Elon Musk had previously estimated there could be **up to $1 trillion in fraud** in federal government spending. [25] DOGE has also claimed to find hundreds of billions in improper payments annually across various programs. Critics on X pushed back sharply. "Elon Musk and DOGE dug around in the government for months and didn't find a single case of even misdemeanor fraud," one user argued. Others noted that DOGE's fraud claims have drawn multiple "False" or "Misleading" ratings from fact-checkers. [30] The public data release is being seen as a way to crowdsource the investigation — putting the searching in the hands of millions of Americans rather than a small team inside the government. Here's why this matters to you — **Medicaid covers roughly 80 million Americans**. If even a fraction of DOGE's fraud estimates are accurate, that's money that could fund benefits for real people. The data is now public. Anyone can look.

[1][2]

Brief #5POLICY◆ MIXED

7/10

Trump Gave Republicans an Ultimatum: No DHS Deal Until Democrats Hand Him This Vote

While the TSA funding crisis played out at airports across the country, President Trump made his position on a broader solution crystal clear — and it raised immediate questions about whether a deal is even possible. According to Reuters, **Trump told Republican lawmakers not to reach any agreement on DHS funding until Democrats in Congress pass a bill requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote**. [32] The bill — known informally as the SAVE Act — would require voters to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register and to present approved photo ID at the polls. [33] Republicans have long pushed for stricter voter ID laws, arguing they're necessary to prevent non-citizens from participating in elections. Democrats uniformly oppose the measure, arguing that non-citizen voting is already illegal and that strict ID requirements disenfranchise legal voters — particularly low-income Americans and minorities who are less likely to have certain forms of ID. By linking the DHS funding deal to the voter ID bill, Trump is essentially making airport security and TSA paychecks a bargaining chip in a much larger political fight. Some Republican voices on X framed it as sensible leverage. "Make it simple and it should pass unanimously," one user argued. [37] Democrats called it hostage-taking. Here's why this matters to you — **your next flight could be affected**. If Congress doesn't pass a long-term funding solution, TSA staffing shortages could continue or worsen. And with Trump tying that solution to an unrelated voting rights bill, the odds of a quick legislative fix dropped significantly on Monday.

[1][2]

Brief #6ECONOMY▼ BEARISH

8/10

Oil Hit $116 a Barrel This Morning — Here's What That Does to Your Grocery Bill

You might not follow oil markets every day. But oil markets are about to follow you — straight to the checkout line. **Brent crude crossed $116 a barrel on Monday morning**, driven by fears that the Iran conflict could escalate further after Trump's comments about potentially seizing Kharg Island, the critical hub for Iranian oil exports. [66] That's not just a number for traders and hedge funds. KATU News reported that **grocery prices have already risen significantly in 2026** due to a combination of ongoing inflation and tariffs — and economists warned that the Iran war will push them even higher. [66] Fuel prices feed into nearly every product on the shelf. Trucks run on diesel. Ships run on bunker fuel. Farms run on equipment that runs on oil. When crude spikes, the price of nearly everything physical eventually follows. Australia, where fuel prices have also surged, saw two states announce free public transit programs this weekend to offset war-driven energy costs for residents. That kind of policy response hasn't emerged yet in the United States. If the reported ceasefire order from Trump materializes later today, analysts expect oil prices to drop — potentially sharply. Markets responded to even the rumor of a ceasefire with notable movement on Monday. [4] Here's why this matters to you — **$116 oil is not a Wall Street problem, it's a Main Street problem**. It's the price at the pump. It's the cost of your groceries. It's your utility bill. Whether the Iran situation escalates or de-escalates in the next 48 hours will directly determine how much you pay for everyday necessities.

[1][2]

TSA Workers Stopped Getting Paid — Then Trump Signed an Order That Raised More Questions Than It Answered

Key Developments

Stories Driving the News

500 TSA Agents Quit. Then Trump Signed an Order His Own Party Made Necessary

Trump Expected to Sign Iran Ceasefire Order at 4PM — Markets Already Reacting

Jack Smith Filed 165 Pages on Trump — and the J6 Case Just Got a Second Life

DOGE Just Released 7 Years of Medicaid Data — and Invited the Public to Find the Fraud

Trump Gave Republicans an Ultimatum: No DHS Deal Until Democrats Hand Him This Vote

Oil Hit $116 a Barrel This Morning — Here's What That Does to Your Grocery Bill

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

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