TSA Agents Face Financial Strain Amid Ongoing Government Shutdown

Sat Mar 21 2026 13:29:50 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

As the government shutdown continues, TSA agents are forced to work without pay, leading to rising resignations, financial hardships, and significant wait times at airports across the nation.

TSA agents are grappling with unpaid work during the ongoing government shutdown, which has resulted in financial distress for many employees. Reports indicate a significant rise in staff turnover, as agents resign amid rising costs and unpaid wages. The effects of the shutdown have been felt by the public, resulting in long wait times at airports as airport security staffing continues to dwindle.

Eviction notices. Vehicle repossessions. Empty refrigerators and overdrawn bank accounts.

Union leaders and federal officials say these are just some of the financial pressures Transportation Security Administration agents are facing during an ongoing government funding lapse — the third shutdown in less than six months that has forced the officers who screen airport passengers and luggage to keep working without pay.

The public is experiencing the consequences in long wait times at some airports as more TSA officers take time off to earn money on the side or cut back on expenses. At least 376 have quit their jobs altogether since the shutdown began on Valentine’s Day, according to the Department of Homeland Security, exacerbating staff turnover at an agency that historically has had some of the U.S. government’s highest attrition and lowest employee morale.

“It’s just exhausting. Every day it just feels like this weight gets heavier and heavier on us,” Cameron Cochems, a local TSA union leader in Boise, Idaho, told The Associated Press.

Airport screeners have spent nearly half of the past 170 days with their paychecks held up by politics — 43 days last fall during the longest government shutdown in history, four days earlier this year during a brief funding lapse, and now 35 days and counting during the current shutdown.

Cochems, who has worked as a TSA agent for more than four years, noted that many more officers would leave in a better job market, further deepening the staffing challenge.

The effects of the ongoing shutdown are significant, causing TSA officers to miss their first full paycheck last weekend, with reports of climbing absences nationwide. The staffing shortages have resulted in long wait times and some airports being forced to close checkpoints.

During an interview this week, TSA officials warned that the ongoing hardship might lead to longer-lasting issues within the agency, where morale has already been low due to years of relatively low pay and management challenges.

As the shutdown continues, Congress has yet to provide a clear timeline for budget reinstatement, leaving the TSA agents in a precarious position, caught between their duties and financial survival.