After a kind gesture to airport employees in Georgia didn't go as planned, Tyler Perry found a workaround.
The "A Madea Homecoming" director tried to hand cash to TSA employees at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on March 26, but was turned down due to federal rules, USA TODAY has learned. He later worked with the Transportation Security Administration to find another way to support them during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
And so the actor and filmmaker ended up donating $250,000 worth of Visa gift cards to TSA workers at the Atlanta airport on March 27.
The donation comes as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown continues with no end in sight, leaving more than 64,000 airport security workers working without pay.
President Donald Trump signed an order on Friday declaring an "unprecedented emergency situation" to reroute federal funds to pay TSA staffers. The move will allow TSA employees to get their paychecks as early as March 30 instead of waiting for back pay after the shutdown ends.
