“Democrats are treating TSA officers like sacrificial lambs.”

Today, Rep. Matt Van Epps (TN-07) spoke at the House Homeland Security Committee hearing titled, “Funding Lapse and Security Gaps: Assessing the Harmful Impacts of the DHS Shutdown on Americans.” The hearing detailed how the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown is disrupting operations and placing direct strain on the workforce. The committee also examined the resulting gaps in national security and public safety, while emphasizing the need to fully fund DHS ahead of major national events, including the 2026 World Cup and America250.  

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“We are nearly 40 days into this feckless shutdown. The cost of this Democrat political stunt is the invaluable human capital of the men and women that serve DHS.  

Under the Biden administration’s open border policies, we had criminals coming into the country that are putting American lives at risk. Like in the case of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman––just this week, murdered by an illegal alien who shouldn’t have been here in the first place.  Her sister is a student at Vanderbilt University in my district. This family is suffering unimaginable loss and pain—and I’m sick of it.  

And yet Democrats are still keeping DHS shut down––the very department in charge of protecting Americans at home.  

Because of Democrats’ political games, TSA personnel have gone multiple pay periods without compensation. Ninety-five percent of TSA’s workforce is deemed essential, and we rely on them every day to keep us safe.   

These agents serve our country and keep us safe every day— and I’m thankful for President Trump and this administration for doing so. Yet Democrats are treating them like sacrificial lambs. This is absolutely no way to thank these brave men and women!  

Not only that, but Democrats are creating a compounding workforce shortage crisis for TSA. Already, over 400 Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) have separated from TSA. And because it takes four to six months to train a TSO, TSA hasn’t finished fully training those hired to replace the officers that left during the last shutdown.  

So, here we are in March, with the first World Cup events only a few months away, and even if we reopen today, we won’t be able to fully replace the officers that have quit because of Democrats’ unnecessary and destructive shutdown.  

Ahead of summer, America’s busiest travel season, and major events like FIFA, the Olympics, and America 250––not to mention the increased terror threat due to the conflict with Iran––Democrats are foolishly crippling TSA and putting American lives at risk.  

This ridiculous shutdown has gone on long enough. It’s time for my Democrat colleagues to come to their senses.”  

During the hearing, the Congressman asked Ha Nguyen McNeill, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the TSA Administrator, how TSA is preparing to accelerate preparedness in anticipation of increased high traffic due to upcoming major events. 

She stated, “We are in a dire situation when it comes to staff multiple different locations for the FIFA World Cup as well as the basecamps where the teams are going to be. This is going to be a really complex operation and… what we are seeing in this shutdown is that more experienced officers are leaving and that expertise you can only make up with time and experience.” 

He also asked Admiral Thomas G. Allan, Vice Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, how the shutdown has affected the Coast Guard’s access to maintenance facilities. 

Admiral Allan replied, “The United States’ defense industrial base is already suffering. There is not enough capacity within it. We work very hard to get the capacity we need, [but] now that we have ships in those yards, [where we’re] doing maintenance, we haven’t been able to pay them for forty days. We are seeing stop work orders come in on several of our ships. And several of our vendors are saying they aren’t going to be able to work with the Coast Guard because we can’t guarantee pay.”

The Congressman followed up, “Those are the cutters, aircrafts, small boats, critical systems that are under contract that must be paused during the shutdown?” 

The admiral replied that the payment of this maintenance is paused and the number of vendors unwilling to work with the Coast Guard is growing every day. 

 Background

• Over 100,000 DHS workers missed their full paychecks last week as a result of the Democrat DHS shutdown. This amounts to $1 BILLION in unpaid wages each month.
• Democrat DHS shutdown has caused at least $2.5 billion in losses so far.
• As of March 24, 2026, DHS has been shut down for 87 days during Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). DHS is only 176 days into this fiscal year, which means DHS has been shut down for nearly 50% of FY26.
• TSA employees have been forced to work without pay three times in six months due to Democrats’ reckless shutdowns.
• Over 1,550 TSOs have left TSA since the beginning of last year’s shutdown. Approximately 1,100 left during the fall 2025 shutdown, and 458 have left so far from the ongoing 2026 shutdown.
• TSO call-out rates have reached over 40% in certain airports, including in Houston, Atlanta, and New Orleans.
• Nationwide, around 11% of TSA’s entire scheduled workforce called out on March 21, last Saturday. The typical call-out rate is 2%.