Updated March 25, 2026 at 7:18 PM EDT
The Transportation Security Administration is experiencing the longest wait times ever in its 24-year history because of the ongoing partial shutdown, the agency's deputy administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday.
Wait times at some major airports have exceeded four hours, and employees at those airports are calling out of work at rates of 40% to 50%, McNeill told members of the committee. If this partial government shutdown continues into Friday, TSA will have missed almost $1 billion in paychecks since it began, McNeill said.
"This level of disruption is unprecedented, and unacceptable, and significantly undermines the security of U.S. transportation systems," she said.
McNeill said employees are unable to pay their utility bills and their services are being shut off as a result. They're also receiving eviction notices, sleeping in their cars and selling their blood and plasma to make ends meet. More than 480 employees have quit since the shutdown began, she said.
"Paying these dedicated employees for the work they are performing should never be a point of debate," she said.
Additionally, there has been a 500% increase in assaults against TSA officers since the shutdown began, McNeill said. She said legal action will be pursued in these incidents.
McNeill thanked Trump for sending ICE agents to some major airports, "enabling TSA officers to focus on carrying out critical security screening duties during this challenging time for our agency," she said.
TSA may have to close smaller airports due to understaffing, she said, and she worries the agency will continue to lose officers to more steady jobs and fail to attract new talent.
McNeill said it takes four to six months to train a TSA officer to work checkpoints, meaning new hires wouldn't be available to work when several FIFA World Cup matches will happen across the country, starting in June. TSA is anticipating between 6 and 10 million additional passengers for the tournament, she said.
"To the traveling public, we ask for your patience and understanding as our officers are working their hardest to ensure you can travel safely, all the while not getting paid," she said.
Democrats and Republicans point fingers about what's causing the shutdown
At Wednesday's hearing, Democratic and Republican House members blamed their opposing parties for dragging the shutdown on.
Both parties have been unable to agree on funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which, like TSA, is under the Department of Homeland Security umbrella.
Democrats have claimed ICE is overfunded and officers use unnecessary physical force. Meanwhile, Republicans have asserted the U.S. is facing increased terroristic threats, and that ICE has been undoing lax immigration policies put in place by former President Joe Biden.
"We're here because we're cleaning up a mess that is on a level and a scale that is unfathomable," said Rep. August Pfluger, a Texas Republican. "President Trump has had to clean up a mess that is on a scale that was unthinkable."
Several Democrats also condemned a decision by former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to end TSA's collective bargaining agreement in March 2025. At the time, the agency said ending the agreement "removes bureaucratic hurdles that will strengthen workforce agility, enhance productivity and resiliency, while also jumpstarting innovation."
The American Federation of Government Employees fought the decision in court — and won in January 2026.
"On behalf of the 47,000 TSA officers our union represents, I thank the court for stepping in to prevent the administration from ripping up their union contract, again," said AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a January press release.
Addressing Republicans, Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Democrat representing Illinois, said "So when you're acting here like you give a darn about our TSA officers, stop with the hypocrisy."
Michigan Democrat Rep. Shri Thanedar said it looks like ICE agents "have no role to play," as he said he has seen them sitting around on their phones and chatting at the Detroit Metro Airport. McNeill reiterated that ICE has provided crucial assistance to TSA during the shutdown.
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