Hours after the TSA PreCheck was supposed to be halted, the agency announced that the airport program will remain in operation. With the Department of Homeland Security unfunded and partially shut down, the agency had announced that it was stopping new enrollments and renewals for TSA PreCheck and Global Entry starting Sunday and was redirecting staff to regular airport screening. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem framed the change as necessary to shift focus to the "general traveling population," the Washington Post reports, while also suspending perks like police escorts for members of Congress and scaling back nonemergency work at FEMA. The fate of Global Entry wasn't clear, per the AP.
DHS funding lapsed Feb. 14 after congressional Democrats and the White House hit an impasse on new limits for immigration enforcement agencies, including body cameras, stricter warrant rules for home raids, and a code of conduct. Both parties accuse the other of using travelers as leverage. Airline and travel industry groups warn the abrupt pause in trusted traveler programs will snarl airports, with Airlines for America. The shutdown affects only DHS but still covers about 13% of the civilian federal workforce, most of whom are expected to work without pay if the standoff drags on.
Employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Coast Guard aren't being paid during the shutdown. Most staff members will stay on the job anyway, per NBC News, because their work is classified as critical. In her statement, Noem called prioritizing the public is important this weekend because of the winter storm hitting the East Coast.
This story has been updated with the TSA's reversal.
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