TSA Agents Will Miss First Paycheck This Friday Amid Government Shutdown

Another year, another government shutdown. The Department of Homeland Security has been partially shut down since Senate Democrats denied their Republican counterparts the 60 votes needed to pass the department's funding bill last month. Transportation Security Administration officers are expected to miss their first paycheck this Friday. As with air traffic controllers at the FAA during last year's government shutdown, TSA agents are taking second jobs or resigning to find income.

Democrats opted for a shutdown to seek greater accountability for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. However, ICE's poorly-trained agents are still being paid, unlike their airport security colleagues. The "One Big Beautiful Bill" secured funding for all of DHS' immigration enforcement operations through 2029. The TSA will just have to make do with a gradually dwindling number of agents at security checkpoints. Travelers are already noticing long waits at major airports, but it is expected to get worse as the shutdown continues.

During previous federal government shutdowns, TSA agents received donated assistance while continuing to work without pay. However, the food and gas cards they previously relied on have not materialized. It seems like most people don't know the shutdown is happening because of its limited scope. Rachel Burnett-Parker, a Boise-based TSA officer, told the Huffington Post, "I cannot afford child care. A lot of people talk about how they're trying to do Uber Eats and stuff like that to make enough money to get by." She and her husband were forced to pull their one-year-old child out of daycare to save money.

The public will quickly become aware of the DHS shutdown if the TSA is forced to close a significant number of airport security checkpoints due to staffing shortages. Last year, the FAA feared a zero ATC event, where an airport's air traffic control tower had no staff on duty. While flights aren't in danger of not being able to safely fly this time around, it would be complete chaos at an international airport if passengers had to wait hours to get through a security checkpoint. No one can afford to work unpaid forever, especially if they were already living paycheck to paycheck.