The U.S. Department of Homeland Security essentially shut down early Saturday morning when its two-week stopgap funding ran out. About 95 percent of the department's Transportation Security Administration workers, however, are considered essential and are required to report to work, even though they may not receive a paycheck if DHS isn't funded before the department's next pay period.
Those 61,000 essential TSA employees are transportation security officers working at more than 430 commercial airports, according to TSA.
Congressional Democrats are in negotiations with President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans over restrictions on immigration enforcement agents in exchange for agency funding, which is causing the DHS shutdown. The lapse in funding also coincides with the week Congress typically takes a recess to commemorate President's Day.
Unlike the shutdown this past October and November—the longest in U.S. history at 43 days—the rest of the government is funded through Sept. 30. That means that other travel-related essential workers, including air traffic controllers under the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration, will continue to be paid.
"Travelers and the U.S. economy cannot afford to have essential TSA personnel working without pay, which increases the risk of unscheduled absences and call outs, and ultimately can lead to higher wait times and missed or delayed flights," according to a Feb. 13 joint statement from the U.S. Travel Association, Airlines for America and the American Hotel & Lodging Association. "Funding uncertainties create lasting damage to the entire travel ecosystem, especially the airlines, hotels and thousands of small businesses the travel industry supports."
During the shutdown last fall, about 1,110 transportation security officers left the TSA, "a more than 25 percent increase in TSO separations from the same time period in 2024," according to a Feb. 11 statement by Ha Nguyen McNeill, the senior official performing the duties of administrator for the TSA.
The U.S. Travel Association estimated that the fall shutdown cost the travel industry $6.1 billion.
"Congress must act with urgency to ensure TSA is fully funded to carry out its critical aviation security mission and pursue permanent solutions to guarantee pay for essential federal workers," the travel organizations added. "The Keep America Flying Act is a common sense, bipartisan proposal that would ensure that TSA officers and air traffic controllers receive pay during funding lapses and should be taken up immediately by Congress."
The Keep American Flying Act refers to identical bills introduced in the U.S. Senate and House to fund air traffic controllers and other essential FAA personnel, as well as TSA employees engaged in screening operations, aviation security duties or related mission-support functions necessary to carry out security screenings. The bills also provide appropriations for payments to FAA and TSA contractors who provide support to these employees.