President Donald Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to pay its employees despite a prolonged government shutdown that has lasted nearly 50 days.

He said the move is meant to support workers across agencies like FEMA, the Coast Guard, and cybersecurity offices who have gone without pay since funding lapsed in February.

Trump blamed congressional Democrats for the shutdown, while arguing that the situation poses a national security emergency.

The order follows similar action to fund TSA workers and instructs officials to use available funds tied to DHS functions, NBC News has reported.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are working on a bipartisan proposal to end the shutdown and restore full funding, though it has yet to be approved by both chambers of Congress.