CNN on Wednesday interviewed a TSA union representative who blasted Congress for failing to reach a funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security, leaving TSA agents and other federal employees without pay for more than 40 days.
The representative described how she and her colleagues are scraping by, skipping meals, stretching every dollar, and explained why many TSA agents are no longer showing up for work.
🚨 HOLY SMOKES. Even CNN just aired a TSA UNION representative going ballistic on the Schumer DHS shutdown
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 25, 2026
This is BRUTAL for them.
"It has come to the point of having to SKIP MEALS because I have to make sure my kids are fed!"
"Come to a resolution for the sake of the federal… pic.twitter.com/OKJnFxNQiX
"My in-laws also work for the agency. So even the people that we could have probably asked for some sort of money or some sort of help, they're also in the same position where they cannot help," the TSA union representative said. "I mean, we're really making do with what we have, stretching that dollar, having to carpool. At this point, it feels like I have to skip meals to make sure my kids are fed. And so if it comes down to I'll just feed them and I'll skip a meal and we'll keep stretching that dollar, so be it."
"It is really hard to hear that in this country, you have to skip meals in order for your own children to be fed. And you have a full-time job, but because Congress can't get it together, you are unpaid," the CNN host said. "Can you give me some sense of the message that you want to send directly to Congress, to your Congress people, and to those who are making these decisions? What would you say to them and the president this morning?"
"I need them to come to some sort of resolution for the sake of the federal workers. This is unacceptable," she replied, "These are people who have been put in a position by constituents, and they need to represent us. And that also means making sure we are able to put food on the table while we've been working."
"It is unacceptable at this point that we are showing up to work with no pay. And even the people who are not showing up to work because they're not able to, it's not that they don't want to, they're not able because they're not able to put gas in their car or have anyone to leave their children with because they cannot afford to pay it," the union rep added. "And yet since this shutdown started, nationwide officers have screened well over 95 million people, and we are still showing up every day without pay."
Travelers are feeling the effects of the shutdown as well, with security wait times surging at major airports, prompting the Trump administration to deploy ICE agents to help manage operations. And there’s still no clear end in sight, as potential Senate deals continue to falter.
Today is day number 40 of the DHS shutdown, and a possible DHS deal in the Senate may be on the rocks.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 25, 2026
As of 9am ET, Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office tells @FoxNews they’ve still received no counter proposal from Democrats after GOP offered to fund all of DHS except…