As thepartial government shutdowncontinues and Transportation Security Administration officers work without pay, many are struggling to stay afloat financially.
The partial shutdown began in mid-February after Congress failed to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA.Roughly 50,000 TSA officersare continuing to work but without regular pay during the funding lapse, raising concerns about staffing shortages and absenteeism asspring break travelramps up.
"Numerous employees have reported to me that their bank accounts are at zero or negative," Johnny Jones, Secretary-Treasurer of AFGE TSA Council 100 and a Dallas-based TSA worker, told USA TODAY. "No funds for daycare, no funds for food. They just want to know why the hell they can't get paid when we have money toshoot missilesinto other countries."
Friday, March 13, will be the first time TSA workers miss their full paychecks.
As TSA officers work to find ways to bridge their own financial gaps, Jones acknowledged that airport security lines havegotten longer.
"There is a significant part of the workforce that is working other duties outside of their duties at TSA," he said. "I hope they're not panhandling at the airport. There are people who are staying at the airport, not leaving, they're sleeping in their car to conserve gas, consolidating their work life."
Fewer agents are showing up to work as a result, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying in a March 11social media postthat "300 (TSA) officers quit," citingCBS News reporting. The rates of officers calling out have more than doubled since the shutdown began, the same CBS report found, with some airports facing the absence of more than 50% of their frontline TSA workforce on some days.
"Today, travelers are facing TSA lines of up to nearly 3 hours long at some major airports, causing missed flights and massive delays during peak travel," TSApreviously told USA TODAY in a statement. "These frontline heroes received only partial paychecks earlier this month and now face their first full missed paycheck, leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages."
Some airports, like Denver International Airport (DEN), have even taken up collections to help TSA employees with some basic assistance.
"Once again, DEN's federal employees are working tirelessly to ensure our airport operates efficiently and safely without getting paid. TSA employees just missed their first paycheck, and as we enter a busy Spring Break travel period, we want to do what we can to ease the stress of this moment," DEN CEO Phil Washington said in astatement. "That's why we are calling on the public, our passengers, and other airport employees to donate grocery store and gas gift cards to help make this moment a little more bearable for these federal workers."
The collection is meant to help TSA officers purchase necessities while they're not getting paid.
"Donated gift cards can be from stores like King Soopers, Safeway, Walmart, Costco, and Target. Ideal gift cards include those stores that sell both gas and food. Denominations should be in $10 or $20 gift cards only. Visa gift cards cannot be accepted," thedescription of the eventsays.
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Jones said other airports are doing similar charity drives, but added that it can be harder to get and distribute assistance at larger airports. He noted that some TSA employees have lost their housing when they were unable to pay rent on month-to-month leases as a result of the funding lapse.
"We took the oath to uphold the Constitution and protect the public, but the people who are elected to Congress took the same oath, but they don't do their job and fund the government," Jones said. "We are caught in partisan politics."
Do TSA PreChek, Global Entry still work?
Despite the disruption, DHS and TSA say expedited screening programs remain available.TSA PreCheck is still operational, allowing enrolled travelers to move through dedicated lanes and typically avoid removing belts and light jackets during screening. The agency reversed an earlier plan to suspend the program after pressure from airlines and lawmakers concerned about further slowing airport checkpoints, although officials warned that TSA PreCheck lanes could be closed on a case-by-case basis based on staffing during the shutdown.
DHS announced Global Entry lines would reopen on March 11, saying the change was meant toalleviate disruptionsfor travelers amid the shutdown.
How can I check the TSA line wait times at my airport?
Travelers worried about long security lines cancheck real-time wait estimatesbefore heading to the airport.
TSA publishes historical andlive checkpoint wait-timeinformation on its MyTSA mobile app and on the agency's website, where travelers can search by airport and time of day.
Travelers should be aware that some information on theTSA website isn't being updatedbecause of the ongoing government shutdown, the agency said in a statement on Feb. 17. Banners on both the TSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection websites warn that, "Due to the lapse in federal funding, this website will not be actively managed."
That's different fromthe last government shutdownthat ran from October to November 2025, when TSA security wait times continued to update as usual.
This time, TSA confirmed to USA TODAY via email that both theMyTSA mobile appand the agency's wait‑time tracker are down because of a partial U.S. government shutdown now in its fourth week.
The app is also supposed to show whether TSA PreCheck lanes are open. However, some airports also publish their own checkpoint wait times on official airport websites or social media feeds. Checking those before leaving for the airport can help travelers decide whether they need to arrive earlier than usual.
Contributing: Michelle Del Rey and Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York, and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:TSA workers say they're sleeping in cars amid shutdown
As thepartial government shutdowncontinues and Transportation Security Administration officers work without pay, many are...
