What to Know
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have been working without pay for over a month now, and a video recorded at an airport has sparked a lot of outrage online. In the video, which has been shared on Reddit, a woman goes through security at the airport and learns that the people working there are not getting paid right now. “So, wait,” she questioned two employees. “Y’all aren’t getting paid?” One of them responded with, “Nope. We haven’t gotten paid in over a month.”
Multiple outlets have reported on how the ongoing government shutdown has impacted airport employees and travelers. Travelers have been dealing with longer lines and delays. As the New York Times reported, a lot of TSA officers cannot afford to work without pay, leading some of them to take on additional jobs to make ends meet. Fewer employees have been showing up for work. Some of them might be calling in sick and working the job that actually pays them instead. Additionally, hundreds of TSA officers have quit their jobs.
The woman in the viral video was shocked to find out that TSA officers are essentially “volunteering” right now.
TSA officers are working without pay while millions travel for spring break.
— Rep. April McClain Delaney (@RepAprilDelaney) March 16, 2026
Democrats are ready to fund @FEMA, @TSA,@USCG and every lawful DHS mission.
Republicans refuse ICE & CBP reforms and keep the shutdown going.
End the chaos.
One of the employees in the video told the woman, “We’re volunteering right now.” She questioned, “You’re volunteering, why? So you guys don’t lose your jobs?” The employee confirmed that this is pretty much the case. Based on the woman’s reaction, she found this pretty unbelievable. The employee then told her, “We’ll get paid eventually, but we don’t know when.”
After finding out that TSA officers around the country are not getting paid right now, the woman appeared in front of the camera and said, “Oh my God, guys. They’re not getting paid in TSA. This is ridiculous. The people are working so hard and they’re not being paid. What’s going on with our government?”
Christine Vitel, a TSA officer and executive vice president of a union representing TSA officers told the New York Times that while officers continue to work under these conditions, she imagines “there’s going to be a breaking point sooner or later.”
People reacted to the viral video online.
These TSA agents tell this woman they haven’t been paid in over a month
by u/Justin_Godfrey in Wellthatsucks
“that is craziness,” one person wrote on Reddit. “how can anyone be expected to survive without a paycheck for that long?” Someone else added, “They can’t pay their rent or buy food if they haven’t had a paycheck in 2 months. It is criminal what our government is doing to its own people.”
While some people argued that the TSA officers are not exactly “volunteering” because they’ll eventually get paid, others said it’s not so simple. “They will be compensated after they get evicted for not paying rent and after they get to rock bottom and can’t even feed their kids,” someone argued. “These people are hard working and they don’t deserve what congress is putting them through.”
Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration has blamed Democrats for this.
Democrats are once again forcing our TSA agents to work without pay for the THIRD time in six months — including in Baltimore, where many agents and their families are being forced to live off of food drives.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 18, 2026
This is disgraceful: Democrats must stop holding the paychecks of our… pic.twitter.com/kvQYFPCVVY
There is nothing neutral or balanced about the way the Trump administration is describing the shutdown. In a March 17 press release, the Trump administration referred to the shutdown as a “Democrat-led shutdown” that is “forcing TSA officers to work without pay and holding American travelers hostage.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said, “The Democrats’ reckless DHS shutdown is causing TSA officers to go without pay for the third time in nearly six months. These political stunts are causing unneeded financial hardship for our TSA officers and their families. Now, 366 TSA officers have left the force. Because of this DHS shutdown, Americans are facing HOURS long waits at airports across the country. Democrats must reopen DHS now.”
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