Tens of thousands Transportation Security Administration officers are set to receive another $0 paycheck this week.
Philip Marcelo, Obed Lamy And Rio YamatTaylor Desert, a TSA agent, checks in to pick up groceries at Gleaners Food Bank in Indianapolis, Monday, March 23, 2026. Taylor Desert, a TSA agent, leaves Gleaners Food Bank after picking up groceries in Indianapolis, Monday, March 23, 2026.
Signage reading"TSA is Hiring" at Philadelphia International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Philadelphia. A Transportation Security Administration workers's patch is displayed at Philadelphia International Airport, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. A Transportation Security Administration agent leaves the terminal following their shift at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore, Monday, March 23, 2026. Taylor Desert, a TSA agent, checks in to pick up groceries at Gleaners Food Bank in Indianapolis, Monday, March 23, 2026. A woman in Indiana who put off dental surgery because she doesn't know if she can afford the copay. A Florida couple with young children who are depleting their savings. A grandmother in Idaho who plans to sell her car to pay the rent. They are among the tens of thousands Transportation Security Administration officers set to receive another $0 paycheck this week.over funding the Department of Homeland Security has held up their salaries since mid-February. With monthly bills coming due, many of these federal employees, who screen passengers and luggage at airports across the U.S., are making difficult choices about how to make ends meet.have produced long lines and frustrated passengers at understaffed security checkpoints. Union leaders and federal officials say empty gas tanks, childcare expenses and the threat of eviction keep more screeners from showing up the longer the shutdown continues. At last count, more than 455“Stop asking me about the long lines. Ask me if somebody’s gonna eat today,” Hydrick Thomas, president of the national American Federation of Government Employees union council that represents TSA employees, told reporters Tuesday.Before starting her shift at Indianapolis International Airport on Monday, Taylor Desert stopped at“I never thought I would be in a position where, working for the federal government, I would need to go to a food bank to supplement my groceries,” she said as she loaded bags into her car. Desert, who has been a TSA officer for seven years, said her last full paycheck came on Feb. 14, the day the shutdown started. She had some savings to draw on despite a record 43-day shutdown last fall but put some personal plans on pause. For example, Desert needs to get her wisdom teeth removed but says the TSA isn’t approving time off during the shutdown. She also worries about costs from the surgery not covered by insurance. Wednesday was the 39th day of the DHS funding lapse. If it goes another 21 days, Desert said she would seek another job.Florida TSA couple worry about their young children Oksana Kelly, 38, and her husband, Deron, 37, both work as TSA agents at Orlando International Airport. They have two young children and don't know how they will keep supporting their family without any income coming in.persists, they will ask relatives for help or take out a loan, which she worries would put them deeper in debt. Her husband has worked as a DoorDash delivery driver in his spare time since the shutdown in October and November. He's considered resigning from the TSA to put the couple on more stable financial footing. “It’s very mentally exhausting,” said Kelly, who is an organizer for the labor union representing TSA workers across central and northern Florida. “How do we even decide between being able to feed our kids or come to work?” Kelly said strangers might criticize the couple for “putting all eggs in one basket” since both choose to work for the TSA for the past decade.A veteran officer in Idaho fears homelessness“They don’t understand why grandma’s crying,” Wolf said. “I try not to cry in front of them, but sometimes it’s just too much.” The 53-year-old TSA officer and union leader in Boise, Idaho, joined the agency soon after its creation in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She was homeless at the time but turned her situation around with steady work and the benefits of federal employment. Now, Wolf can’t help but dwell on where she was 24 years ago. “I don’t want to be in that position again,” she said.With no savings to fall back on, she is preparing to sell her car to cover her rent due in a week. She calls nonprofits daily seeking rental assistance, but hasn’t had any luck. Supporting six family members — four children and two grandchildren — has always been challenging, but the repeated shutdowns have made it nearly unsustainable. Wolf, who serves as president of AFGE TSA Local 1127, is hesitant to walk away from both the job that turned her life around and her role advocating for fellow officers. “I worked hard to get to where I am now, and the thought I might lose it all scares me,” she said, her voice breaking as she tried to stifle the sound of weeping.Mike Gayzagian, a TSA officer at Boston’s Logan International Airport, says long stretches without pay have become enough of a “new normal” that he’s prepared for them. The 56-year-old says he has a financial cushion of about six months to tap but that his situation is “an exception to the rule.” “The majority live paycheck to paycheck and don’t have those kinds of reserves available,” said Gayzagian, who is president of his local“The financial situation adds an additional burden to what is already a stressful job,” Gayzagian said. “I didn’t go into public service to make a lot of money. I went into public service because it has a certain stability and reliability and predictability that other jobs don’t have.”Robert Echeverria quit his job as a TSA agent at Utah’s Salt Lake City International Airport about two weeks into the current shutdown. The 45-year-old, who has a wife and three children, counted five government shutdowns in the nine years he worked for the agency. The toughest wasEcheverria said his family skipped Christmas and took months to recover financially. He began looking for a new job in February when it became clear Congress was headed for another budget battle. “Emotionally I was already distraught,” Echeverria said last week. “We were barely recovering from the last shutdown.” He now works for the department that manages the airports in Utah's capital. Leaving federal service “was a hard decision for me,” Echeverria said. “I really believed in the mission of the TSA,” he said. “We took an oath, and it was a way for me to give back to the country that gave me so much.” He’s still based at Salt Lake City International, where his 20-year-old daughter works as a TSA agent, and says that seeing his former colleagues struggling is difficult. “They all feel betrayed by their government because they’re showing up to work," Echeverria said."They’re there, but they feel that the government doesn’t care for them,” he said.Marcelo reported from New York, Lamy reported from Indianapolis and Yamat reported from Las Vegas. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.74 year old woman hit crossing South General McMullenLake Placid and Lake McQueeney are coming back after sitting emptyNew emissions test could cost Bexar County vehicle owners▶San Antonio attorney admits stealing over half a million dollars from children's inheritance.Watch 'Dangerous Lessons' Monday at 9 pmArrest made in deadly car racing accidentSpurs respond after viral video at game sparks backlashIs the 'smokable' hemp market about to be set ablaze?Reuniting items found along the Guadalupe River after the deadly floodsSA airport reports short TSA waitShould the city rename César Chávez Blvd?Shuttle driver rescues toddler from a busy roadDay 3: Erica Hernandez recaps evidence shownSan Antonio César Chávez march organizers, foundation disbands amid sexual abuse allegationsSAPD says 12-year-old killed in a street racing crash2026 César E. Chávez March for Justice cancelled▶Possible relief for a northeast side dangerous intersection.CORPUS CHRISTI TURNING TO SAN ANTONIO FOR ANSWERS TO ITS WATER CRISISBlind man says security pushed him down stairs, beat him in parking lot of North Side barDesfile Flambeau Iluminara la noche durante Fiesta
Business Rebecca Wolf Politics President
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
TSA Officer Call-Outs Lead to Airport Security Delays Amidst Government ShutdownAirport security lines are growing nationwide due to a high call-out rate among TSA officers, many of whom haven't been paid for weeks. Over 3,250 officers called out on Saturday, March 21. The government shutdown is the main cause, with Democrats and President Trump at odds over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE agents are being deployed to 14 airports to assist, with plans still evolving. While ICE agents lack TSA training for x-ray screening, they will manage lines and other non-specialized tasks to allow TSA officers to focus on more complex security roles.
Read more »
Senate poised to confirm Mullin to Homeland Security as TSA standoff deepensThe Senate is heading toward a vote to confirm Markwayne Mullin as the new secretary of Homeland Security. President Trump tapped the Republican senator from Oklahoma to take over the department after having fired Secretary Kristi Noem amid her handling of mass deportations and disaster response.
Read more »
Senate ready to confirm Mullin to Homeland Security as TSA standoff deepensThe Senate is heading toward a vote to confirm Markwayne Mullin as the new secretary of Homeland Security.
Read more »
Senate ready to confirm Mullin to Homeland Security as TSA standoff deepensWASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is on track to confirm Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary, President Donald Trump's nominee to take over the
Read more »
TSA Wait Times: What Prediction Odds Show About DHS ShutdownThe shutdown has left tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration officers working without pay.
Read more »
TSA officers describe tears, tough choices and dwindling savings from working without payTens of thousands Transportation Security Administration officers are set to receive another $0 paycheck this week.
Read more »