Blame game continues as TSA agents miss first full paycheck

WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration agents missed their first full paycheck Friday as a funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security continued.

Republicans are stepping up their criticism of Democrats, blaming them for the shutdown.

Republicans say the missed pay marks the third time in six months that TSA agents have gone without pay, a disruption they said has contributed to staffing shortages and longer security lines at airports. More than 300 TSA agents have left since the shutdown began, and callouts are increasing.

“TSA officers screen nearly a billion passengers a year. With an average salary of around $35,000, these are workers who simply cannot afford to miss a paycheck,” Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said in a statement.

“Right now, Congress is allowing them to do that work without one,” Freeman added. “Every time Washington fails to fund the government, these essential workers pay the price. So do travelers. So does the economy. That is why America’s travel industry has come together, because this workforce is too important, and the stakes are too high, for this to keep happening.”

The White House framed the funding lapse as particularly dangerous because it comes amid what it described as heightened national security threats. It also argued the shutdown is unnecessary, saying Democrats have acknowledged the standoff is “for nothing” because Immigration and Customs Enforcement is already funded.

The statement did not provide details on when DHS funding would be restored or how quickly TSA staffing levels and airport screening operations could stabilize once pay resumes.

“Georgia families expect their leaders in Washington to have their best interests in mind,” Americans for Prosperity–Georgia State Director Tony West said in a statement. “As TSA officers begin receiving their first $0 paycheck today and with this shutdown nearing a month, the consequences of Washington’s dysfunction are becoming impossible to ignore.

The group launched a new digital campaign to hold U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, who faces re-election in November, accountable for not voting in favor of legislation that would reopen the government and fully fund the Department of Homeland Security.

“Instead, Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are refusing to support legislation that would end the shutdown and fund the Department of Homeland Security, putting politics over the safety and well-being of the American people,” West added.

Republicans have piled on their criticism of Ossoff, who touts himself as a moderate Democrat but is reliably liberal.

“Democrats like Jon Ossoff are once again putting the American people through a pointless shutdown in a shameful attempt to appease their radical far-left base,” Republican National Committee Spokeswoman Emma Hall said in a statement.

“Just like last time, real Georgia families are the ones paying the price,” Hall added. “Jon Ossoff is a coward who is putting lives and livelihoods on the line every day this shutdown drags on – and Georgians won’t be quick to forget it.”