‘It’s Up to You’: Airlines Demand Congress Fully Fund DHS as Chaos Continues
“This problem is solvable, and there are solutions on the table. Now it’s up to you, Congress, to move forward on bipartisan proposals that will get federal aviation workers—including TSA officers, U.S. Customs clearance officers at airports and air traffic controllers—paid during shutdowns.”
The CEOs of the top airlines have demanded Congress restore all funding to DHS as the chaos continues at airports due to unpaid TSA agents.
This problem is solvable, and there are solutions on the table. Now it’s up to you, Congress, to move forward on bipartisan proposals that will get federal aviation workers—including TSA officers, U.S. Customs clearance officers at airports and air traffic controllers—paid during shutdowns. First, leaders should immediately come together to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Then they need to act so this problem never happens again. Specifically, Congress should pass the Aviation Funding Solvency Act and the Aviation Funding Stability Act, which would guarantee air traffic controllers are paid regardless of the government’s funding status, as well as the Keep America Flying Act, which would provide the same protections to TSA officers who are tasked every day with keeping Americans secure in the skies.
TSA officers just received $0 paychecks. That is simply unacceptable. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid.
With spring break travel in full swing, FIFA World Cup 2026 right around the corner and celebrations for America’s 250th birthday throughout the year, the stakes are especially high. U.S. airlines expect 171 million passengers this spring season, a new record. But too many travelers are having to wait in extraordinarily long—and painfully slow—lines at checkpoints. Wait times of 2, 3 and even 4 hours have been reported. Airlines are doing everything we can to mitigate disruption by holding flights for late passengers and rebooking others.
We could just abolish TSA and go to private security…but I digress.
The signees included CEOs of American Airlines, Delta, FedEx, and Southwest.
“It’s past time for the government to make sure that TSA officers, U.S. Customs clearance officers at airports and air traffic controllers are paid for the job they do,” they concluded. “In these times when it’s hard to reach consensus on just about anything, it is significant that the vast majority of Americans want Congress to pay federal aviation workers, keep our National Airspace System secure and ensure travelers and packages can get to their destinations safely.”
NEW: Major airlines call on Congress to fund @DHSgov and pay TSA workers, who've now missed a partial and full paycheck.
The Democrat shutdown has caused immense harm to American travelers and workers — and it needs to end. pic.twitter.com/yPdDnhQiBT
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 16, 2026
DHS stopped receiving funding on February 13 after Democrats threw a fit about reforms for ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
However, the partial shutdown hasn’t affected ICE or CBP because Congress already allocated those funds.
The partial shutdown has hit TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard.
[Featured image via YouTube]
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Comments
The hissy fit the cabal is throwing is related to attempts to sabotage the removal of the millions of criminal migrant ushered in during Obama’s 3rd term
Its success represents one of 2 or more pillars of the extinction of the cabal
Dear Elon: You hold the Twitter 1.0 files. By not sharing with certain prosecutorial entities you foment wild conspiracy theories which even extend to Trump being a deep-state plant.
It’s past time for you to act..
Perhaps readers are unaware on a certain level of what those files represent
The SAVE act is one pillar that represents the extinction of the democrat crime cabal
the MOATF is another.
Use RICO to permanently abolish the Democrat crime cabal
Well, chaos is what they want…
There was a paragraph in the local story that I read asking travelers to bring donations to the airport to give to TSA employees.
I’m sorry… What?
In what world would I be caught supporting micro-tyrants that strip search grandma? TSA is security theater, nothing else.
It’s worth the $80 that I pay for my pre-check not to have to listen to the condescending sing-song commands to remove your shoes, remove your belt, pull your laptop out of your briefcase, etc., by a person who wouldn’t last a week working at Home Depot.
Our security failure started with not recognizing that islam is the danger, not Joe Sixpack trying to get to a conference in Milwaukee.
I mean, people do remember the twin towers, shanksville and the pentagon, right? That wasn’t the Amish.
Would love to give numerous upvotes for this! The ridiculous numbers of stories I have heard and experienced that made us no safer are out of the park.
My 85 yo mother wasn’t allowed to bring a small pair of nail clippers on board but the 5in scissors for my yarn project was allowed! Not the same trip so I guess it was the particular agents – go figure.
I had a TSA agent freak out on me over an empty water bottle I had totally forgotten was in a side pocket of the backpack I was using while going through the TSA security circus. An empty water bottle. Go figure.
Definitely privatize the airport screening TSA staff. Let the flying public pay for it via ticket charges to fund the local airport authorities. The Feds can/should retain a slimmed down TSA of air Marshals and a staff to conduct audits and inspect, test security, write up ‘best practices’ and minimum standards to operate.
That said one suggestion I saw was to link Congressional pay to shut downs and passing a budget. If we set Congressional pay to lapse when Congress fails to enact the ‘budget’ in its entirety on time I suspect we’d get less shutdown theater.
…and, to take it further, when congress finally gets its act together after a shutdown, they DO NOT get back pay! That time that they’re having their little hissy fits and not doing their job shouldn’t be made up for after the shutdown is over.
I know, I know. Wishful thinking.
Huh? Congrss gets paid whether or not the government is closed. TSA doesn’t, but the government isn’t closed because of THEIR hissy fits. It’s not clear who deserves the punishment here.
Then again, I am in favor in general of government employees deemed “non-essential’ not getting back pay after hissy fit shutdowns end. It may actually be what we need to kill the Democrat party forever.
Privatizing is a non-starter for democrats. Unions need members and Democrats need to union funding.
Meh, the public sector unions, at the Federal level anyway, are IMO on borrowed time. Even returning responsibility to local airport authorities for passenger and baggage screening the employees could still create a union in most States. Even in right to work States they could voluntarily organize, come up with a mentoring program, create internal training programs, set up a mutual aid society for small hardship loans and a supplemental annuity/pension. They could do just about everything a ‘union’ does except demand exclusive power to negotiate wages/benefits on behalf all employees, even those who don’t want the union.
And make sure their budget reflects the change!
Every state (at least red ones) should not pay legislatures for failed budgets. PA is indeed purple when it comes to state legislature split, but what ensued when they took 5 months past the constitution’s set time to pass a budget was highly problematic…and extra expensive.
Yes, the dems hate Trump & ICE so they’ll hold other agencies hostage by not funding them until ICE is abolished or reformed.
What they won’t say outloud is the dems hope for airline terrorism, plus an airline or two to declare bankrupcty due to all the funding chaos, so the dems can use it all as midterm talking points and campaign commercials as proof orangeman bad!
Yes, the dems are that craven and greedy, plus I’m that jaded.
Dems supported the terrorism of wide open borders for 4 years, so yes, it makes sense that they don’t give a damn about terrorism in the skies either. Wake up America.
It’s not Congress – it’s the DEMOCRATS in Congress. Start calling out the source that it is – DEMOCRATS.
Bingo. This phony both-sides-ism doesn’t serve ANYBODY.
Not United?
TSA employees and Congress will also work as ObamaCare liaisons to assure that government run healthcare is the best
Dems take action that the citizens will mostly remember at voting time is GOP obstruction
while the gop will continue as Mulkowlski ( and john mccain did) and others will insure that the Dems remain the champions of the people
It often goes unmentioned that the Coast Guard is going unfunded too. This is particularly hard on junior enlisted personnel especially those with families.
It is unconscionable to hold these young servicemembers hostage for the sake of illegal aliens.
Especially when you consider the love of the military shown by the Democrats over the years.
USAA and other ‘military oriented’ banks/Credit unions are offering interest free loans and working with their impacted borrowers to extend/defer payments on existing loans.
Those things help, often they are difference makers, but young service members are….young. They make the mistakes of the young and getting my Soldiers to understand the importance of saving up a few months worth of expenses v splurging on a new vehicle or renting a home off base above the BAQ rate or other wasteful things was always tough.
FedEx, eh?
Maybe they should embargo the addresses of high-ranking Democrats and their relatives. Feed them with bullshit excuses as to why their packages are suddenly not deliverable. I know it’s not even difficult, they do it to me all the time. “Label became separated from package” is a standout classic.
The Democrats are the Fifth Column at this point.
Schumer shut down continues?
President Trump should shut down all airports until TSA is funded.
Due to the current U.S. security threat level—airports remain at heightened security with Homeland Security reporting persistent risks from domestic violent extremists and foreign terrorist groups—there should be more agents on duty, not less.
Gee – –
One would have thought that the airlines cumair transport industry at large would have enough political power to put this DEM initiated defunding silliness to rest.
All that money spent on lobbyists?? Who’da thunk?
Surely in time of war there must be a way to fund the Coast Guard as a national security priority.
With respect to privatizing airport screening absolutely do it. It was private from 1976 till the founding of DHS after 9 11. If that happens sadly it will not be as competent as it used to be. In red cities and/or states it will probably be much better than the current system. In blue cities/states it will probably remain pretty much the same with the only upside is that Congressional Democrats could not easily shut the system down.
They were NEVER reasonably competent. The creation of TSA was nothing but the vacuuming of all those existing people into spiffy federal uniforms, a government employee union, government paychecks and unfireable civil service job security.
If the federal workers are not getting paid they should not be at work. It will shut down transportation and put the screws to the democrat jerks.
The TSA should not be a government agency. The TSA should work for the airlines.