TSA officers get fraction of pay as government shutdown drags

By Doyinsola Oladipo and David Shepardson

NEW YORK, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Airport security screeners across the U.S. received a fraction of their usual pay on Friday as the partial government shutdown drags on, increasing the risk that more officers will call in sick to take second jobs, or even quit.

Funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security lapsed on February 13 after Congress failed to reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms demanded by Democrats. That halted funding for the operation of several government agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration.

This shutdown is more limited than the record 43-day October-November event that closed numerous departments of government. But with TSA agents facing the possibility of losing even more pay if this one drags on further, the ripple effects could emerge again: absences, departures, and bottlenecked security lines at the nation's airports.

"People are going to get discouraged a lot quicker this time," said Philip Glover, national vice president of District 3 of the American Federation of Government Employees, who represents TSA workers at 19 airports in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

EXPECTING MORE RESIGNATIONS

Local AFGE officials said they are expecting TSA resignations to rise, while other TSA workers, some of whom are still repaying debts from the last shutdown, again tighten their finances.

Ha Nguyen McNeill, the top official at the TSA, told Congress this month that around 1,110 transportation security officers (TSOs) left the TSA in October and November 2025, a more than 25% increase from the same time period in 2024.

"We heard reports of officers sleeping in their cars at airports to save money on gas, selling their blood and plasma and taking on second jobs to make ends meet," McNeill said of last year's shutdown, adding that the TSA is working to surge staffing in March, April, and May to be prepared for spring break, summer, and World Cup travel.

A TSA officer at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas who asked to remain anonymous told Reuters the back-to-back shutdowns are making her reconsider the future of her nine-year career at the agency. "I want to keep this job at least for the medical benefits, but sometimes I think I would be better off to abandon ship to reinvest myself elsewhere," the 34-year-old said.

Airline CEOs recently met with McNeill and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to talk about the shutdown and the effect on TSA, American Airlines AAL.O CEO Robert Isom said in a social media post.

Airlines raised concerns about the recent suspension of the Global Entry program - which was not affected during last year's shutdown - while lawmakers have urged DHS to restore the program, used to expedite U.S. customs and immigration clearance.

Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada said in a Friday letter to Noem the government is using the program "to maximize the administration’s political leverage and create uncertainty."

MAKING ENDS MEET

Workers for a second time in four months have to find a way to make ends meet without pay as the agency's management is pressing workers more on absences, as some call in sick to take on odd jobs to pay bills and fill their gas tanks, local AFGE officials said.

"Officers are looking at other alternatives just to maintain some kind of stability," said Darrell English, president of AFGE Local 777, which represents TSA workers in Illinois and Wisconsin. "That's the backlash that's coming down the line from these continuous shutdowns."

Neal Gosman, treasurer of the AFGE Local 899 in Minnesota, said that several of his colleagues with high seniority decided to retire shortly after this shutdown started.

"Maybe it's just coincidence and these are older people who've been there a while, but somehow they decided to pull the trigger this week," he said.