TSA Lines Expected To Increase As More Agents Quit During Shutdown

The Department of Homeland Security has been effectively shut down for a month, after Senate Democrats refused to restore funding unless the agency makes significant reforms to ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. While the focus of the shutdown has been on those agencies, one of its side effects has been increasingly long TSA lines at more and more airports. The disruption to travel is expected to worsen as TSA agents missed their first paycheck on Friday, and hundreds have already quit.

All this is because Senate Republicans refuse to implement common-sense reforms on how ICE conducts itself.

According to CNN, while TSA agents have received partial payments throughout the shutdown, Friday marked the first missed paycheck. In a post on X, DHS said that over 300 TSA agents have already quit as a result of the shutdown. There’s been a significant uptick in unscheduled callouts as well, leading to hours-long wait times in TSA lines. While the average callout rate hovered around 2% ahead of the shutdown, that number has spiked to 6% on average, with some airports, like Houston Hobby International Airport, reaching a 55% callout rate on Saturday.

“They have to make a difficult decision of either to pay their grocery bills, pay for their child care, or coming to work,” Acting TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told NBC News. It probably doesn’t help that, as a result of President Donald Trump launching a war with Iran, prices for both groceries and gasoline have dramatically increased. It’s hard to justify burning gas to go to a job that isn’t even paying you at the moment. 

Compounding the problem is that TSA is already trying to recover from the approximately 1,110 officers who quit during the government shutdown last fall. It takes roughly four to six months for a TSA agent to be properly trained, meaning that even when the shutdown ends, TSA will still be facing staffing shortages. 

“These numbers illustrate the severe operational strain caused by the shutdown, underscoring the urgent need for resolution to restore stability, morale, and security at America’s airports,” DHS said in a statement. “TSA funding must be restored immediately.”

A coalition of airline CEOs released an open letter on Sunday calling for a bipartisan end to the shutdown. 

“This problem is solvable, and there are solutions on the table. Now it’s up to you, Congress, to move forward on bipartisan proposals that will get federal aviation workers—including TSA officers, U.S. Customs clearance officers at airports and air traffic controllers—paid during shutdowns,” the letter reads. “TSA officers just received $0 paychecks. That is simply unacceptable. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid.”

DHS’s funding expired in mid-February after Senate Democrats refused to pass a spending bill for the agency. The refusal was largely in response to how ICE conducted itself during “Operation Metro Surge” in Minneapolis. During their month-long occupation, federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens: Renee Good and Alex Pretti. ICE agents were seen pepper-spraying civilians point-blank in the face for exercising their right to legally observe federal agents, terrorizing hospital workers, and conducting what experts have called a state terror campaign. 

ICE’s actions in Minneapolis led to the public opinion of the agency drastically sinking, with “abolish ICE” becoming an increasingly moderate position. Instead of listening to the will of the people and implementing reforms into how ICE conducts itself, Senate Republicans have doubled down and have refused any effort to rein the agency in. 

Democratic lawmakers did try to compromise with Republicans last week, introducing a spending bill that would restore funding for the TSA and FEMA. Senate Republicans voted no on the proposal, meaning that TSA agents will continue to go unpaid, and security lines will likely only get longer. It’s genuinely crazy work that Senate Republicans are moving like this for an agency that has negative public approval. 

SEE ALSO:

TSA Shortages Lead To Hours-long Wait Times At Airports

Global Entry Program Restored As TSA Faces DHS Shutdown Staff Shortages