The ongoing Democrat-led government shutdown — which impacts the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with the exception of immigration enforcement operations — has led to the formal suspension of TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs as of 6 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday.
These trusted traveler initiatives, which provide expedited security screening for pre-vetted individuals, are being paused to allow DHS to prioritize resources for the general public at airports and ports of entry. TSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will also halt courtesy escorts and special privileges, the department announced.
The move is expected to lead to longer wait times at security checkpoints across the nation’s airports. Unlike previous shutdowns, such as the 43-day event in late 2025, these programs were not previously suspended.
In addition to the travel impacts, roughly 90 percent of the department’s 260,000 employees are deemed essential and must continue working without immediate pay, including personnel from TSA, FEMA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and CBP. These workers will receive retroactive compensation once funding is restored, per the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act.
In terms of effects across other DHS agencies, FEMA has shifted focus solely to disaster-related activities, delaying non-emergency responses amid forecasts of a major storm in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Cybersecurity monitoring may face delays in procurement and threat assessments, while Coast Guard operations like search-and-rescue and maritime security persist but with potential resource constraints.
Social Security payments, postal services, and most other federal functions remain unaffected, as the shutdown is limited to DHS.
A Transportation Security Administration agent at a checkpoint verifying passenger identification, John Glenn Columbus International Airport
Photo: Michael Ball
Negotiations to end the shutdown remain stalled as of this report.
Democrats have been pushing for federal immigration “reforms” that would essentially end deportations, including a demand to obtain individual warrants for deporting each illegal alien. Republicans have said this is a non-starter, though Democrats have continued to push for a number of additional demands, including a ban on masks for federal agents, increased oversight and the use of officer-worn body cameras.
The White House has already agreed to body cameras, though Democrats are pushing for restrictions on how they can be used. In a procedural vote to advance the bill, the Senate fell short largely along party lines for a final outcome of 52-47. Nearly all Democrats opposed the motion, except for Senator John Fetterman (D-PA).
President Donald Trump has called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to bypass the “zombie” filibuster — a move that allows the minority party to block legislation without physical debate — in order to end the shutdown and pass other Republican-backed bills
