Delta suspends VIP services for Congress members amid DHS shutdown, TSA delays

Members of Congress are losing a perk of flying Delta Air Lines because of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.

FOX Business confirmed Tuesday morning that Atlanta-based Delta has suspended specialty services for members of Congress flying Delta.

"Due to the impact on resources from the long-standing government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta," a company spokesperson told FOX Business. "Next to safety, Delta's no. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment."

Delta has traditionally given priority VIP service to congressional members, allowing them to skip TSA lines and escorting them to their gates.

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Now members of Congress will be told they are going to be treated like other passengers based on their respective SkyMiles status.

Additionally, Delta was suspending its "special congressional desk service" for lawmakers until the government shutdown ends, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The airport chaos, traveler frustrations and long wait times through the first weekend of the busy spring travel season have apparently hit too close to home for Delta, which has its headquarters in Atlanta.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, well-known to be the busiest in the world, has been hamstrung by TSA security lines up to nine hours long, according to some reports.

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"Due to current federal conditions, passengers are advised to allow at least 4 hours or more for domestic and international screenings," a current online advisory read at ATL.com on Tuesday morning.

Delta and other airlines have long warned the shutdown is worsening airport disruptions, particularly as unpaid TSA workers face mounting financial pressure and staffing shortages fuel extended checkpoint waits.

Depending on the side of the aisle, President Donald Trump has been both commended and critiqued for deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to give TSA help at the most distressed airports around the country.

An on-site FOX Business report found TSA security lines in Atlanta had all but been solved after ICE agents arrived.

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Last week, the Senate approved by unanimous consent a proposal to eliminate the special airport privileges that members of Congress have enjoyed. The measure, introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, would end a long-criticized perk that has symbolized the gap between elected officials and the public they serve.

The bill still needed House approval and the president’s signature before it could become law.

"As many Americans probably don’t know but most of us in Washington do know, airports around the country allow Members of Congress to bypass the usual TSA security screening process at airports nationwide," Cornyn wrote in a statement, rebuking the "unfair perk." "In other words, they get to skip the line.

"We know trust in Congress is at an all-time low, but today, thank goodness, the Senate has taken an important step towards restoring the trust of the people we are here to represent."

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On other issues tying up the Senate, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., has been forcing the issue on Democrats amid the debate on the SAVE America Act — Trump's signature election integrity legislation — and the confirmation of now-former Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., as the next Department of Homeland Security secretary.

"We've had DHS shut down for 38 days," Kennedy told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" on Tuesday morning. "I think, the Democrats at one point voted to fund DHS and then they backtracked.

"We've been debating the SAVE Act for, I don't know, 10 days. I guess we're stuck. I'm a big believer that when you're stuck, you ought to try to plow around the stump, not through it."

Kennedy has been pitching working around Democrats' obstruction that is gumming up the Senate and leading to the TSA chaos.

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"Sen. [Ted] Cruz and I, a few days ago, came up with a two-step process to solve both problems," Kennedy continued. "Step one, we would open up everything at DHS except ICE, including TSA, which the Democrats have already agreed to.

"And then we would, we would fund ICE through reconciliation, which we could do only with Republican votes. We would not need any Democratic votes."

The same goes for the SAVE America Act, giving it the "Byrd bath" to pass it with just the Senate Republican majority (currently 53-47) instead of 60 votes, according to Kennedy.

It is ultimately up to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to move in that direction.

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"We pitched this to Sen. Thune a couple of days ago," Kennedy said. "He pitched it to President Trump. President Trump, as you know, from his tweets said, no.

"But I talked to Sen. Thune last night, and he says the president has reconsidered and may be on board."

Passing the SAVE America Act before the midterms is a top priority for Trump, who could find his final two years of his second term hamstrung by even more Democrat-forced gridlock.

Georgia, notably, is a key battleground for the Senate majority as Republicans eye Sen. Jon Ossof, D-Ga., as a potential seat to flip in November.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is leaning in on Ossoff's continued votes that keep DHS shut down, foisting up to nine-hour TSA security delays in Atlanta.

"Jon Ossoff cares more about protecting illegals like Laken Riley's killer than standing with hardworking Georgians," NRSC regional press secretary wrote in a statement. "Ossoff never refuses a chance to use Georgians as political pawns. Ossoff must stop putting illegals first and end his DHS shutdown."

FOX Business' Chase Williams contributed to this report.