March 27 has become a key date for restoring Transportation Security Administration (TSA) pay because it is the last day both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in Washington before a two-week recess, raising stakes for travelers and workers.
Why It Matters
The Department of Homeland Security shutdown has forced TSA officers to work without pay amid reports of security lines lengthening at airports across the country.
If Congress does not resolve the funding dispute before the recess, the shutdown could stretch toward two months and surpass the longest federal funding lapse on record.
What To Know
MarketWatch reported that Friday is the final day both the House and Senate are due in session before a two-week break, potentially making it a de facto deadline to fund DHS and restart TSA paychecks.
Negotiations have focused on whether to fund TSA and other DHS components separately from immigration enforcement agencies, a step Democrats support and Republicans oppose, leaving TSA workers unpaid during the partial shutdown.
As Newsweek reported previously, some 366 TSA agents have quit since the shutdown began on February 14, with callouts spiking as high as 55 percent in one day at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport on March 14.
Major airline CEOs have urged Congress to ensure TSA workers are paid during the shutdown, warning that officers recently received zero-dollar paychecks—which they said in a letter to lawmakers was unacceptable.
“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,” the open letter said.
The National Desk reported that travelers in multiple cities have faced two- to three-hour waits as TSA staffing thins, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy saying the financial strain is pushing some officers to take second jobs.
What People Are Saying
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a Sunday interview, per Politico: “The clock’s ticking. If we’re going to get this done, we’ve got to get moving pretty quickly here.”
Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told Fox News: “If this continues, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports—particularly smaller ones if callout rates go up.”
Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California wrote on X on March 10: “Democrats offered to fund TSA. Republicans blocked it. Now they want to hand more money to ICE without reform. They control the whole of government, but can’t seem to govern.”
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