Editorial: The partial shutdown forcing TSA agents to work without pay could not have come at a worse time

The Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Mar 18, 2026

Published in Op Eds

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Lost in the economic and political fallout from President Donald Trump’s war in Iran is the growing chaos at airports and an increased terrorist threat inside the United States.

More than 60,000 Transportation Security Administration employees have been working without pay because of the partial government shutdown that began on Feb. 14. More than 300 TSA agents have quit and thousands more have been calling out from work, prompting long lines at many airports.

TSA temporarily closed the security checkpoint at Terminal C in the Philadelphia International Airport last week. Two other checkpoints — at Terminals A-West and F — will temporarily close Wednesday, airport officials said; there is no timetable for them to reopen.

Despite staffing shortages, the wait times for travelers in Philadelphia remained manageable for now. But travelers at other airports waited more than three hours to get through security.

The partial shutdown that resulted in funding lapses for the Department of Homeland Security could not come at a more dangerous time. Federal law enforcement agencies remain on high alert following threats to the United States after Trump and Israel began bombing Iran.

Indeed, Trump’s war has apparently already spurred several terror attacks on U.S. soil.

— Two teens from Bucks County who said they were inspired by ISIS were charged with trying to set off homemade bombs during a protest outside the residence of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

— Iran-linked hackers claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on Stryker, a Michigan-based company that makes a range of medical equipment and technology.

— A U.S. citizen born in Lebanon drove a truck into a synagogue in Michigan last week after four of his relatives were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

— A naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone accused of killing an ROTC instructor at Old Dominion University was previously convicted of supporting ISIS.

— A U.S. citizen from Senegal who was wearing a T-shirt with the colors of the Iranian flag was accused of killing three people and injuring a dozen more outside of a bar in Austin, Texas, the day after the initial attack on Iran.

The motives for the attacks are still being investigated but law enforcement officials urged people to report suspicious activity, and police have increased patrols around synagogues and public transit hubs.

The growing threats come as the Trump administration spent the past year decimating national security.

FBI Director Kash Patel fired counterterrorism agents because they were involved in the investigation that led to Trump’s criminal indictment in 2023 on charges of mishandling classified documents.

At the same time, the FBI and Homeland Security have shifted thousands of agents to focus on immigration enforcement, while the Justice Department’s elite national security division has faced mass firings, resignations, and forced retirements.

More unsettling, the person now overseeing Homeland Security’s terrorism prevention programs is a 22-year-old former Trump campaign worker fresh out of college with no apparent national security expertise.

Meanwhile, thousands of TSA agents — who are charged with screening customer baggage and cargo for weapons and explosives — are overworked and not getting paid.

TSA agents, who make an average of $35,000, endured a 43-day government shutdown last fall, making this the second time in six months they have been forced to work without pay.

A TSA union representative said several employees reported lacking money for daycare and food. “They just want to know why the hell they can’t get paid when we have money to shoot missiles into other countries,” Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100 and a Dallas-based TSA worker, told USA Today.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers blamed each other for the shutdown underscoring the deep political divide and dysfunction in Washington.

Airline chief executives demanded Congress find a way to pay the TSA workers as the shutdown disrupts travel and undermines safety.

Trump, who took a break from his war to play golf over the weekend, offered cold comfort when asked if Americans should worry about terror attacks in the United States: “I guess,” he responded. “Some people will die.”

Trump, quite literally, to America: Drop dead.

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