A TSA officer’s patch is noticeable on their shirt as people travel through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on November 7, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Most Transportation Security Administration officers received a paycheck Monday to cover four weeks of back pay held by the funding shortfall at the Department of Homeland Security, a TSA spokesman said.
The lack of pay had led to long security checkpoint lines at some of the country’s busiest airports after TSA officers quit or called in ill.
The government’s 45-day partial shutdown of DHS is still ongoing – and both houses of Congress, both led by Republicans, are unable to reach consensus on a solution. It is now the longest government shutdown in history, surpassing last year’s record of 43 days.
But President Donald Trump on Friday ordered The department and the White House Office of Management and Budget called for reprogramming of funds with a “logical connection” to the TSA to compensate airport screeners who remained on the job without pay.
This month of back pay expired on Monday, DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis wrote in an email.
“Most TSA employees received a retroactive paycheck today that included at least two full paychecks…today,” Bis wrote.
Some TSA agents “may see a slight delay,” which could be due to a variety of factors, such as processing by their banks, Bis added. She said the department is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Finance Center to process employees’ missed half of their paychecks in February.
Because TSA workers are considered crucial, they are required by law to keep their jobs even if the government cannot fund their positions. Although they will receive repayment as soon as funding is available, long shutdowns cause major problems for workers.
More than 500 TSA employees have resigned since the shutdown began and thousands more have missed shifts, Bis wrote.
Collapse in Congress
The House and Senate passed competing measures Friday to end the shutdown. Because the chambers There were differing opinions about how the department should be fundedit remains closed.
The shutdown began Feb. 14 after Democrats in Congress said they would support a bill to fund the department only if it included changes to the way the Trump administration conducted immigration enforcement after immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
Senators reached a deal last week to fund the department except for its immigration enforcement agencies, which received a massive infusion from Republican spending and tax cuts last year.
The House bill would have extended funding levels for the entire department by two months through 2025. Lawmakers in both chambers took a two-week break after passing their respective bills.
The White House wants full funding
At a briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called on Congress to fully fund the department.
“The president simply cannot sign presidential memoranda and presidential proclamations every time Congress is not doing its job and Democrats are holding our country hostage and picking and choosing the programs and agencies they want to fund just because they don’t like this administration’s policies,” she said. “That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”
Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.
