The Transportation Security Administration funding battle continues Friday after the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives rejected a Senate bill to end the partial government shutdown.
The shutdown is now in its 42nd day, and with Congress set to go on recess, it could be a while longer before it’s resolved.
Some passengers were frustrated by the long lines at airports. At San Diego International Airport, the lines spilled out the door and onto the curbside drop-off early Friday morning, causing some to miss their flights.
By Friday afternoon, the lines were back to normal. And many arriving passengers, such as Victor Bechard, say the TSA checkpoints were quicker than they had expected.
“We got to the airport early, and by the time we got there and got into the through TSA, it was total 30 minutes,” he said.
But passengers at other major airports weren’t as lucky. Many were waiting in lines at some checkpoints for four or more hours as agents called out sick or quit after going unpaid for nearly 1½ months.
“It’s a mess. It shouldn’t be happening,” said Marsha Deere, who is returning from traveling abroad.
Late Thursday night, the Senate unanimously approved a funding plan for most of the Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard and TSA, but excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
House Republicans were livid that the bill passed by the Senate did not fund ICE and Border Patrol. House Speaker Mike Johnson, upon opening the chamber for business, accused Democrats of playing a dangerous game and said he needed to talk with fellow Republicans about how to proceed.
“We're not going to risk not funding agencies that keep the American people safe,” he said.
Many passengers at San Diego International were critical of how Congress is handling the shutdown.
“Their sole job is to get government running and keep the government running," Deere said. "And they’ve been doing a really bad job at it.”
“It shouldn't take that long. You know, they should already have something in play," said Toddrick Hall, who is visiting from Dallas.
Bechard has an idea for quickly ending future government shutdowns.
"If Congress didn't get paid when there was a shutdown," he said. "That would get it where everything would get done on time."
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the new DHS chief to pay TSA agents with funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill passed last summer.
In a statement Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said TSA workers “should begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
