DHS Shutdown Hits 40 Days: TSA Wait Times Exceed Four Hours as Spring Break Travel Surges

Update: How the Shutdown Ended

Added October 24, 2026. The shutdown described below lasted 76 days. It ended on April 30, 2026, when President Trump signed a bipartisan bill funding most of the department, including TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service. The Senate had passed the package unanimously weeks earlier, and the House approved it by voice vote the same day. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol were left out of the bill, with Republicans planning to address immigration enforcement funding in a separate party-line measure [5].

Two developments after this report changed the picture for travelers. TSA officers called in sick early in the shutdown to protest missed paychecks, and in late March Trump ordered that airport screeners be paid from other funds. By late April the White House was warning Congress that those funds were running out and that screeners would go unpaid in May without action [5]. The original report from March 26, the shutdown’s 40th day, follows.

The Report from Day 40

The Department of Homeland Security shutdown has entered its 40th day with no resolution in sight, and the impact on American travelers has reached crisis levels. TSA agents are working without pay, wait times at some airports have exceeded four and a half hours, and a funding deal that appeared close to completion has stalled on Capitol Hill.

The Current Situation

Federal employees handling airport security, disaster response, and cybersecurity have gone without paychecks for more than five weeks. The TSA has already lost more than 480 transportation security officers during this shutdown, and at some airports, 40 to 50 percent of the workforce is calling out of work on certain days, according to DHS press releases.

“This has led to the highest wait times in TSA history, with some wait times greater than four and a half hours,” TSA officials reported. The timing could not be worse—spring break travel is at its peak, with millions of families heading to airports expecting the normal 30-to-45-minute security process.

How We Got Here

The shutdown began on February 14, 2026, when Congress failed to reach agreement on Homeland Security Department funding. The dispute traces back to a series of events involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Wikipedia’s summary of the 2026 shutdowns.

The core disagreement centers on ICE funding and reform. Democrats have refused to fund the agency without significant reforms to rein in the tactics of immigration officers, while Republicans and the White House insist on maintaining current enforcement authority. According to CNN, the talks have sputtered as anxiety in both parties spikes over the political fallout.

An additional complication: President Trump has linked any deal to the SAVE America Act, an overhaul of federal election procedures unrelated to DHS funding, according to NPR. This additional demand has made an already difficult negotiation even more complex.

The Failed Deal

A bipartisan Senate deal appeared close to fruition earlier this week. Senate Republicans and the White House were nearing an agreement that would fund most of DHS while carving out ICE’s enforcement and removal operations for separate negotiation, according to CNBC.

However, the deal failed to clear an initial procedural vote on Wednesday. Most Democrats said they were unwilling to approve any additional ICE funding without significant reforms, and some Republicans balked at what they viewed as an incomplete solution, according to CBS News.

Both parties have framed the other as responsible for the chaos. Democrats point to ICE conduct as the underlying issue that must be addressed. Republicans accuse Democrats of holding TSA workers and travelers hostage over an unrelated policy dispute. The political blame game continues while the practical consequences worsen daily.

Impact Beyond Airports

While TSA delays grab headlines, the DHS shutdown affects agencies far beyond airport security. FEMA is operating without new funding with hurricane season, which begins June 1, about two months away. Coast Guard personnel are working without pay. Cybersecurity operations through CISA—the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency—are operating at reduced capacity at a time when cyber threats remain elevated.

Secret Service agents protecting federal officials continue to work without compensation. E-Verify, the system employers use to confirm work authorization, experienced intermittent outages. Immigration courts are a different story: they belong to the Justice Department, which is funded, so they are not directly shut down.

What Happens Next

The Senate is expected to hold another test vote on a modified funding bill in the coming days. However, without resolution of the core ICE funding dispute, any bill faces uncertain prospects in both chambers.

Some lawmakers have proposed a “clean” continuing resolution that would fund DHS at previous levels without addressing the ICE controversy—essentially kicking the policy fight to a later date while getting employees paid. This approach has precedent from the first shutdown earlier this year, which ended after four days with a similar stopgap measure.

Pressure is building from both sides. Airline industry groups and business organizations have called for immediate action, and the spring break crunch has made the shutdown visible to millions of travelers who might otherwise never notice a lapse in DHS funding.

For travelers, the practical advice is blunt: arrive at the airport at least three hours before domestic flights and four hours before international departures. Check your airline’s app for real-time security wait time estimates. And consider TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, which use separate, faster screening lanes that have been less affected by the staffing shortage.

Sources

1. NPR — DHS Funding Deal on Shaky Ground — accessed March 26, 2026
2. CNBC — Senate Republicans, White House Nearing Deal to End DHS Shutdown — accessed March 26, 2026
3. CNN — Deal to Reopen DHS Sputters on Capitol Hill — accessed March 26, 2026
4. CBS News — DHS Shutdown Senate Funding Deal — accessed March 26, 2026
5. PBS NewsHour — Trump signs Homeland Security funding bill, ending record shutdown — April 30, 2026