Monday could mark the beginning of the end of chaos at U.S. airports as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents are expected to begin getting a paycheck again, even though Congress has not agreed to a funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to pay TSA agents immediately. Agents have been working without pay since Feb. 14 due to the ongoing partial government shutdown. The missed paychecks prompted many to call off work, leading to long lines at U.S. airports.
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While paychecks for TSA agents are expected to resume Monday, questions remain about when everyone will be made whole from the missed payments over the past month. And the promise of an impending paycheck did not appear to help much over the weekend as some airports still recommended travelers arrive hours earlier than normal to ensure they made it through security lines.
In Baltimore, lines improved but were still longer than normal. At LaGuardia Airport in New York, a website warning also stated TSA lines could be significantly longer than normal, noting the situation may change quickly.
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Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents continued assisted screening operations at airports over the weekend and it is unclear how long they will remain. Border Czar Tom Homan has said they will be there as long as they are needed, with no clear deadline in place.
With the TSA losing hundreds of agents during the latest shutdown, the help might still be needed even if all active TSA agents begin returning to work.
