By Megan Cerullo
March 27, 2026 / 3:42 PM EDT / CBS News
Hours-long security lines snarled airports across the U.S. on Friday as TSA officers missed another paycheck during the partial government shutdown, but travel experts say delays could ease within days once workers are paid again.
President Trump, saying he recognized the urgency of paying security personnel, directed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to pay TSA workers immediately. The Department of Homeland Security told CBS News that, at the president’s direction, “TSA has immediately begun the process of paying its workforce,” and that TSA officers should begin receiving pay as early as Monday, March 30.
Congress is still negotiating DHS funding, with the Senate passing a measure that the House rejected; House Speaker Mike Johnson said the lower chamber would vote on its own plan. In the meantime, travel experts warn passengers should expect ongoing frustrations until paychecks are delivered.
This is the second time in less than a year TSA officers have worked without pay, prompting higher call-out rates and resignations. TSA call-out rates on Thursday reached nearly 12% — the highest since the shutdown began — and the department reported more than 500 agents have quit because of the funding impasse.
“After the last shutdown, as soon as money hit their accounts, worker sickouts dropped dramatically,” Clint Henderson, a travel expert at The Points Guy, told CBS News. He said it took between two days and two weeks after paychecks arrived for security screening wait times to return to normal. “Once the money starts flowing again, it will be great for passengers,” Henderson added, while noting each unpaid day worsens staffing problems.
Longer-term effects are more complicated: working without pay damages morale, makes recruitment harder, and means TSA will need to hire and train replacements — a process that could prolong disruptions.
Edited by Aimee Picchi
In: United States Department of Homeland Security; Transportation Security Administration