DHS says TSA PreCheck still operational after announcing suspension amid partial shutdown

The Department of Homeland Security has reversed its announcement suspending the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program, as the agency grapples with a partial government shutdown which has entered its second week.

Two DHS officials told CBS News on Monday that TSA PreCheck is expected to remain open after the decision is reversed, but noted that “this is handled on an airport by airport basis.”

In an earlier statement Sunday, a TSA spokesperson told CBS News that PreCheck “remains operational without change for the traveling public,” but
said that if staffing constraints arise due to the ongoing closure, it will “evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly.”

“Courtesy escorts, such as those for members of Congress, have been suspended to allow officers to focus on the mission of securing America’s skies,” the spokesperson said.

Global Entry, another TSA program, has been closed to travelers, following confusion over its status at airports and other ports of entry, according to DHS officials. Customs and Border Protection officers normally assigned to process Global Entry travelers will be reassigned to process all other arriving travelers.

In a statement provided to CBS News Saturday evening, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said TSA and CBP are “prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry and suspending courtesy and special privileges escorts.”

Also Saturday, DHS officials said the TSA and Federal Emergency Management Agency would enter a state of emergency operation at 6 a.m. ET on Sunday. That meant FEMA would suspend all non-disaster missions and was subject to travel restrictions due to the current funding impasse, although the agency remained operational and supported state and local responses to Monday’s winter storm.

FEMA and TSA will resume normal operations once the shutdown ends, DHS announced Saturday.

The partial shutdown took effect Feb. 14 after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on DHS funding despite opposition from Democrats who were demanding changes to the agency following the deadly shootings in Renee Bonne And Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last month by federal immigration agents.

With the TSA and FEMA, partial shutdown has an impact the Coast Guard, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, and other DHS agencies that ensure national security. Approximately 13 percent of the entire federal civilian workforce is involved.

The move drew criticism from Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, a ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee.

“These idiots are at it again,” Thompson said in a statement, accusing President Trump and Noem of “deliberately punishing the American people and using them as pawns for their sadistic political games. TSA PreCheck and Global Entry REDUCE airport lines and ease the burden on DHS staff who are working without pay due to Trump’s abuse of the department and murder of American citizens.”

On Sunday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the measures “intimidation tactics” by the Trump administration.

“The Trump administration is choosing to inflict pain on the public instead of enacting common-sense ICE reforms,” he said in a statement. “During the Trump administration’s historic 43-day shutdown, DHS never changed the status of the Global Entry program. Democrats are fighting against this very type of abuse.”

TSA PreCheck is a membership program that gets travelers through airport security faster after first submitting an application, undergoing a TSA background check, and paying a fee. Only U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents are eligible. By 2024, more than 20 million people were enrolled in TSA PreCheck.

Global Entry is a similar U.S. Customs and Border Protection program designed for those who frequently travel abroad. In addition to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, it is also available to citizens of nearly two dozen other countries.

Noem, meanwhile, talks about the powerful winter storm this should hit the Northeast Sunday, also said in its statement that FEMA would end “any non-disaster response to prioritize disasters.”

“This is especially important given that this weekend another significant winter storm is expected to impact the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States,” Noem said.

The partial shutdown follows a 43-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, that ended in November. The shutdown was primarily driven by a demand from Democrats to extend expiring health insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. TSA employees were forced to work without pay during this period – receiving back pay when the shutdown ended – and I do the same thing again.