Travel industry pushes Congress to end DHS shutdown : NPR
Passengers line up at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint while traveling at Los Angeles International Airport in November 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
WASHINGTON — As the busy spring break season approaches, travel and aviation industry leaders urged Congress to end the impasse over funding for the Department of Homeland Security before federal airport workers lose full pay.
“They show up. They do their job and they don’t get paid,” Geoff Freeman, CEO of the US Travel Association, said at a news conference Thursday. “It’s not just unfair. It’s reckless. You can’t run an industry with a $3 trillion economic impact on IOUs.”
DHS has been closed for nearly three weeks after lawmakers failed to negotiate a budget deal to fund the agency or agree on changes to how immigration agents operate. Many of the Transportation Security Administration’s approximately 64,000 employees are considered “essential” workers and must stay on the job anyway.
During previous shutdowns, TSA agents stayed home in greater numbers when they began missing paychecks, citing “financial limitations.” Travel and aviation industry executives fear this could happen again as travel volumes increase in March and April.
“We’re going to see sick leave. We’re going to see screeners who love their job but will be forced to look for other jobs,” said Todd Hauptli, president of the American Association of Airport Managers. “TSA is going to do its best to try to keep those lines moving, but they’re not going to sacrifice security. And that means people need to be prepared because it drags on for longer lines.”
Industry executives also criticized the decision to suspend Global Entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to use expedited kiosks when entering the United States from abroad.
“I think it’s a huge mistake when the most screened and secure passengers can move through the system seamlessly and shut down that system and push everyone into a standard line,” said Chris Sununu, CEO of the trade group Airlines for America and a former Republican governor of New Hampshire.
DHS initially announced it would also suspend PreCheck, a similar program for pre-approved travelers at TSA checkpoints, but then quickly reversed course and allowed PreCheck to resume.
“There is absolutely no justification for the Department of Homeland Security to suspend any of these programs,” Freeman said Thursday. His group also urged the White House to revive Global Entry, he said.
“We’re having these conversations daily. I’m hopeful it will happen soon,” Freeman said. “It defies logic as to why either program would be suspended.”
Industry leaders came together to launch a messaging campaign with the slogan “Pay Federal Aviation Workers.” They are urging Congress to fund DHS and pass legislation to ensure essential federal aviation employees can be paid during future government shutdowns.
The press conference took place before President Trump announced he was replacing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the former governor of South Dakota. Trump said in an article on Truth Social that he wants Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R.-Okla., to become the next DHS secretary, starting in late March.
