All DHS workers to be paid by end of week for past 6 weeks of shutdown

April 7, 2026 / 5:40 PM EDT / CBS News
Mullin, who was traveling for his first official visit as DHS secretary, in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, said department employees who've been working without pay for the past six weeks would see the missing payments covering recent pay periods in their accounts soon.

"We expect most of those checks to be in their banks by Friday," he told CBS News.

"Some of the financial institutions may have to wait till Monday, but the majority of everybody will be paid by then."
The secretary said the payments are being made possible through executive action and existing funding flexibility, but he warned that future payroll for DHS employees — outside of law enforcement officials — would depend entirely on Congress.

"Going forward, we got to wait on Congress .

This was kind of a rifle shot," he said, noting the high cost of DHS payroll every two weeks.

Mullin pulled no punches in dressing down Democrats for the delay.

When pressed by CBS News on the source of the appropriations, Mullin said the Trump administration is relying on a provision that gives the president limited ability to move funds in emergencies.

He described it as allowing DHS "a little bit of flexibility … with the dollars that were set up to allow us to do stuff just like this," but he emphasized the move required executive action and is not a long-term solution.