TSA lines stretch for hours as Department of Homeland Security shuts down
The Department of Homeland Security shutdown has caused chaos, with TSA lines stretching for hours.
Partial closure of government agencies. war in Iran. Warning about sleeper cells. And in the midst of it all, Americans left wondering if their travel plans were safe.
Those concerns were echoed in part by former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who told CNBC that the country operates in an “environment of heightened security threat due to the fact that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism.”
Meanwhile, Transportation Security Administration agents tasked with screening airline passengers for safety threats are working without pay, posing a new potential concern for air travel safety.
Mr Johnson did not say that travelers were actually at higher risk. But he is one of many experts to raise concerns, including that the suspect is a “lone acter inspired by a terrorist organization.”
Although potential targets are not limited to air travel, and some experts say the risk to aviation remains low, Johnson said the threat could come at a time when the TSA is under “tremendous stress.”
About 50,000 TSA employees are working without regular pay after Congress failed to pass funding for DHS, which oversees the agency, triggering a partial shutdown in mid-February. After receiving partial checks on February 28, TSA employees did not receive their first full paycheck on March 13.
“These are the people we rely on to look for bombs and explosives on the planes we’re about to board with our families,” Johnson said. “They live paycheck to paycheck when they get paid. Morale has traditionally been low at TSA, and now they’re forcing them to go to work without being paid at all.”
The Department of Homeland Security referred questions to the White House, and officials speaking on background said the entire administration is closely monitoring all information and remains vigilant to thwart potential threats should they arise.
Iran war raises the risk of terrorism, experts say
Robert Pape, a political science professor at the University of Chicago who created the first database of suicide bombings around the world after the September 11, 2001 hijackings, told USA TODAY that the threat of terrorist activity will increase in the coming months.
Pape said the threat has increased since the start of the war, including through economic shocks to oil supplies and heightened expectations of terrorist attacks.
“The longer this war goes on, the greater the risks,” Pape said. “That’s something the Trump administration has bitten.”
Pape, who continues to track terrorism for the University of Chicago’s Security and Threats Project, has a substack called “Escalation Trap” that warns about the implications of a war with Iran. He said a central factor in terrorist activity is when attackers believe that a foreign government is trying to change the attacker’s political system, such as Israel’s control over southern Lebanon or the US attack on Iran.
“If you put those two together, it’s not surprising that we’ve had seven or eight incidents since Saturday, February 28th,” including the Austin, Texas, bar shooting and the Michigan synagogue attack, Pape said. “At this rate, the full danger will begin to materialize within the next few months.”
Jeff Price, a professor at Metropolitan State University in Denver and an aviation security expert, said the threat of a domestic terrorist attack by Iran has “absolutely” increased because of the war.
“A war in Iran could stimulate attacks from people who may have been on the verge of committing acts of terrorism, and the war emboldens them to finally cross that line,” Price told USA TODAY. “The war is incentivizing sympathizers, unilateral actors, and groups already in the United States to carry out retaliatory attacks against government institutions, key infrastructure, and other targets of opportunity.”
Elizabeth Stevens, managing director at Geopolitical Risk Advisory, agreed that the Iran conflict has increased the risk of a national threat from “lone wolf” actors. If they attack, these perpetrators are likely to use guns or improvised explosive devices, she said.
“It’s now likely that suicide bombers will come from Iran, because that’s one of the ways they can effectively attack the United States,” Stevens said.
Security officials say “lone wolf” terrorists are a perennial concern because it is difficult to identify and stop individuals acting on their own to harm Americans.
Omar Mateen, 29, of Fort Pierce, Florida, is suspected of having ties to the Islamic State after killing 49 people and wounding 53 others in an Orlando nightclub shooting on June 2, 2016. Mateen works as a security guard and the FBI investigated him in 2013 for making “inflammatory statements” at work. In 2014, he again came to the attention of the FBI for his ties to Monah Mohammad Abusalla, an American who carried out a suicide bombing in Syria that year, but the ties were determined to be minimal.
The attack in Florida came after a husband-and-wife shooting team rained down gunfire in San Bernardino, California. Syed Farooq and Tashfeen Malik had a daughter and lived in an affluent community. However, they stockpiled guns, ammunition, and bombs, and on December 2, 2015, they shot and killed 14 people and injured 20 others at a holiday party at a center for people with developmental disabilities.
Iran has long targeted the US, but concerns about ‘sleeper cells’ are growing
According to George Washington University’s Project on Extremism, Iran and its proxy networks have been targeting the United States for decades. Iranian assassinations date back to the 1980 killing of a dissident in Bethesda, Maryland.
In recent years, Iran has targeted U.S. diplomats and senior officials. Tensions escalated after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and the US-Israel war against Iran began on February 28.
Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on March 2 that the military is preparing for terrorists who try to attack the United States. He said the Iranian regime is “trying to export its ideology and sow the seeds of terrorism.”
“We’re ready for that,” Hegseth said. “We’ve seen these types of people before, and the American people can rest assured that we’re on the lookout for that.”
President Donald Trump told reporters in Miami on March 9 that Iran has also been trying “for a long time” to activate so-called “sleeper cells” of terrorists long hiding in the United States. President Trump called on Democrats to reopen DHS because a partial shutdown would hamper the government’s ability to fight terrorists.
“We know a lot about them, but the government shutdown is preventing us from doing what we need to do,” Trump said.
Sleeper cells don’t need to be highly organized to be successful, Price said.
“Sleeper cells are definitely a concern,” Price said. “Even a small, loosely organized, ad hoc group can be active enough to attempt an attack.”
Threat to aviation is ‘very low’, some experts say
DHS funding shortfalls, TSA staffing shortages and absenteeism are on the horizon, and concerns about aviation safety are growing as airport security lines are lengthened. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said on social media that “300 (TSA) employees have quit” amid the funding shortfall.
While TSA funding is a concern, Stevens said the odds of an attack on a U.S. airport or aircraft, especially by a lone wolf attacker, remain “very low” given the advanced technology needed to breach security.
“Staffing shortages, long lines, and low morale always increase risk, but security at U.S. airports is at such a high level that the risk has increased by several percentage points,” Stevens said. “But to me it seems nonsense that the government doesn’t pay the security guards.”
Hassan Shahidi, president and CEO of the nonprofit Aviation Safety Foundation, echoed similar sentiments, saying he is confident the TSA can address the growing number of potential threats to air travel.
Shahidi said TSA has significantly strengthened its vetting processes in recent years, and the techniques, procedures and procedures in place will not change with the partial closure. He said fewer police officers on the job could slow that process and even lead to reduced flights like those seen during the government shutdown at the end of 2025.
TSA previously told USA TODAY that “travelers are facing TSA lines of up to nearly three hours at some major airports, causing missed flights and significant delays during peak travel times.”
But Shahidi, who recently visited Atlanta, one of the major hubs and where wait times reportedly exceed an hour at peak times, said the delays will not jeopardize passenger safety.
“It will cause inconvenience and delays for passengers. That’s certainly a concern,” Shahidi said. “But from a safety standpoint, I don’t see any particular problem.”
Other experts weren’t so sure either.
Mr Price said the risk to aviation was greater because of the symbolism and could cause a mass reaction among the traveling public. For example, Mr. Price said, a malicious actor could “spread bomb threats all day long with a cell phone stuffed in a bag, effectively shutting down the U.S. aviation system.”
“Not receiving a paycheck for TSA represents a significant risk to the traveling public,” Price said. “When security guards are worried about where their next meal is going to come from or how they’re going to take care of their families, they’re not thinking about their job.”
Contributor: Zach Wichter, USA TODAY
