TSA security screenings delayed at airports nationwide due to government shutdown
Travelers are facing significant TSA delays as the government shutdown leaves employees unpaid and airports nationwide strained.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is one of the busiest in the United States, if not the busiest in the world. (Even if Chicago tries to steal the title)
Every week, hundreds of thousands of passengers pass through the gates, board the SkyTrain, and take off from the airport’s five runways. Airport officials expect 350,000 travelers to pass through the airport between Thursday and Sunday this week.
But during the partial government shutdown, TSA lines in Hartsfield-Jackson reached staggering lengths, sometimes exceeding an hour and a half. Bad weather over the past two weekends didn’t help the situation, with hundreds of flights delayed or canceled and passengers changing flight schedules on a whim.
Hartsfield-Jackson has become a major talking point for Republicans in Congress and other Republican experts as the debate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security drags on.
TSA delays used to attack Democrat Jon Ossoff
The long lines at the TSA come as Congress is debating a funding bill that would repay employees, along with other funding for parts of the Department of Homeland Security.
It’s also primary election season, and Georgia voters will head to the polls in May.
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is running for re-election against a group of Republicans aiming to replace him. He also opposes the DHS funding bill, which includes unchecked funding for ICE.
“Atlanta’s airport is in complete chaos,” Senate Republicans said in a post on X. “Hours of wait times. TSA agents working without pay. Spring Breakers missing their flights. All because Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff refuses to defund TSA and DHS.”
House Republicans shared a similar message, condemning a lengthy post on X about “Democrats shutting down DHS.”
“Passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are waiting 2 hours to get through security because Democrats defund DHS,” the post said.
In a post shared by Dooley War Room, an account dedicated to supporting Republican Senate candidate Derek Dooley, Newt Gingrich, speaking on Fox Business, said the number of people passing through Atlanta was “astonishing.”
“You would think that a local state senator would do everything in his power to make sure TSA works at the Atlanta airport,” Gingrich said.
He also said Republicans in every state should send the same message.
“If you’re standing in line at the airport, call your senator, call your congressman, call talk radio, put a message on X and Truth Social, make your voice heard. And remember, it’s the Democrats who are holding the entire country hostage,” Gingrich said.
The official Department of Homeland Security
“Democrats’ DHS shutdown is causing significant delays, hours-long security lines, and canceled flights at airports from coast to coast,” the agency wrote. “Save Spring Break. Reopen DHS Now.”
Who is responsible for the prolonged closure?
The partial government shutdown began on February 14, when federal funding for DHS expired.
DHS funding includes operating costs for agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Coast Guard.
Democrats said they would not support a new funding bill that would include funding for ICE without changing current policy, citing a lack of oversight, after the deaths of two Americans at the hands of ICE agents in Minneapolis. Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was removed from her post following a hearing on ICE transparency and policy.
Democrats do not support a fully funded bill that includes ICE, but they have proposed multiple funding options that would omit funding for ICE and fund TSA along with other government agencies as Congress considers changes to the TSA.
“They have to take it seriously,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York told CNBC. “The important issues of warrants when entering someone’s home, the identity of police, the wearing of masks, they (Republicans) haven’t taken a step forward on those issues. They have to take them seriously.”
TSA employees are currently working without pay, and while some are still reporting to work, others will continue to miss work as the shutdown drags on.
Eileen Wright is an Atlanta Connect reporter for USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. X Find her at @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
