Overview
- Roughly 50,000 TSA officers have been working without pay since Feb. 14, with a second full missed paycheck expected March 27 as Congress remains deadlocked on DHS funding.
- Major hubs including Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans and Philadelphia reported security waits stretching past three hours, with lane closures and widespread delays and some cancellations documented this week.
- DHS says more than 300 TSA employees have quit since the lapse began and unscheduled absences have surged to about 10% nationally, with localized spikes exceeding 30%; acting deputy TSA chief Adam Stahl warned smaller airports could be forced to close if call‑outs rise.
- Elon Musk publicly offered to cover TSA salaries during the impasse, a proposal that drew praise from Sen. John Fetterman but raised unresolved legal and logistical questions about private payments to federal employees.
- President Donald Trump said he would deploy ICE agents to perform airport security and make immigration arrests if Democrats do not agree to fund DHS, a plan that faces practical hurdles because ICE is not trained for TSA screening roles.