A full 36% of Transportation Security Administration officers called out of work on Wednesday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston as the partial government shutdown dragged into its 40th day, CBS News reported.
Passengers waited up to eight hours to pass through checkpoints as reduced staffing continues to limit operations.
Many TSA workers have not received a full paycheck in more than a month and could miss another one this week as lawmakers continue to debate funding related to the Department of Homeland Security.
Houston's Bush Airport has been hit the hardest by delays — the 36% callout rate was the highest in the country.
"It's a lack-of-pay issue, 100%," Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 100, the union that represents about 4,500 TSA officers in Texas, told The New York Times.
Nay Dedrick of Boston told CBS News she missed her flight after waiting "six to eight hours" Monday in the long security line in Houston.
She slept at the airport and flew the next day.
"TSA was only two people working," she said. "The line started downstairs and went all the way down to the basement, and then it goes all the way back up to the third floor."
Nearly 11% of TSA workers who were scheduled to report for duty Monday — more than 3,200 — missed work, and at least 458 have quit altogether since the shutdown began, according to DHS.
Airport conditions have become increasingly unpredictable, with swelling crowds at major hubs. Travelers headed to LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, as well as Newark Liberty International Airport in neighboring New Jersey, still could not check online TSA wait times Tuesday morning.
Democrats say any funding agreement must include reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Republicans on Tuesday sent Democrats a plan that would separate ICE funding and reopen the rest of the department.
"We'll be sending them an offer back," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. "And I can assure you, it will contain significant reforms in it.
"We need strong, strong reforms and we need to rein in ICE."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.