--- title: Lawmakers’ Special Services at Airports in the Crosshairs description: With the DHS shutdown wreaking havoc at airports, certain services lawmakers have access to when traveling by air are under threat. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/03/24/air-travel-congress-tsa-security-lines-delta-dhs-shutdown/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-03-24T22:56:29.255Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-13T06:52:25.873Z article:section: Politics og:title: Lawmakers’ Special Services at Airports in the Crosshairs og:description: With the DHS shutdown wreaking havoc at airports, certain services lawmakers have access to when traveling by air are under threat. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/03/24/air-travel-congress-tsa-security-lines-delta-dhs-shutdown/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb300036013acce3f/69c3154d3c8347acdb0c8dc1/congress-air-travel-special-services-dhs-shutdown-tsa.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: congress-air-travel-special-services-dhs-shutdown-tsa.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Lawmakers’ Special Services at Airports in the Crosshairs twitter:description: With the DHS shutdown wreaking havoc at airports, certain services lawmakers have access to when traveling by air are under threat. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb300036013acce3f/69c3154d3c8347acdb0c8dc1/congress-air-travel-special-services-dhs-shutdown-tsa.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Lawmakers’ Special Services at Airports Threatened Amid Shutdown Turmoil > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Mar 24, 2026 10:56 PM UTC  The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building are visible as a Frontier airplane flies over the National Mall on March 16, 2026. The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building are visible as a Frontier airplane flies over the National Mall on March 16, 2026. Andrew Harnik—Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Mar 24, 2026 10:56 PM UTC As the partial government shutdown [wreaks havoc](https://time.com/article/2026/03/24/airport-wait-times-security-lines-tsa-ice-dhs-shutdown/) at airports across the U.S., members of Congress are at risk of losing access to special services that have been available to them when they fly. Delta Air Lines is temporarily suspending its special services for lawmakers flying with the carrier, including airport escorts, because of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [shutdown](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/government-shutdown-tsa-democrats-congress-trump/), which is now in its sixth week. “Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement to TIME. “Next to safety, Delta’s no. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment.” **Read More:** [Why Are Airport Wait Times So Long? The TSA Crisis and ICE’s Involvement, Explained](https://time.com/article/2026/03/24/airport-wait-times-security-lines-tsa-ice-dhs-shutdown/) Within Congress itself, the Senate last week [approved](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5793122-lawmakers-lose-tsa-expedited-passage/) by unanimous consent a bill that would require lawmakers to follow the same Transportation Security Administration (TSA) procedures as other air travelers, ending the expedited security screenings airports have typically allowed for them. When speaking about the bill on the Senate floor on Thursday, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who introduced the legislation, blamed his Democratic colleagues for the ongoing shutdown. “The only reason I can fathom, other than being completely out of touch, that our Democratic colleagues would do this is because not all members of Congress are being forced to experience the same mess of their own making right now,” Cornyn [said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MzKMJuodkY). Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa introduced the House version of the bill on Tuesday. “Thanks to Democrats’ political games, TSA agents are working without pay and many American families are facing four-plus hours wait times at airports during spring break,” Hinson said in a [statement](https://hinson.house.gov/media/press-releases/hinson-introduces-end-special-treatment-congress-airports-act). “Some Members of Congress are avoiding the chaos they’ve created by getting preferential treatment and skipping the lines at airports.” Hinson went on to say that her bill in the House and Cornyn’s in the Senate would “eliminate these perks and ensure \[that members of Congress\] face the consequences of inaction.” “Members of Congress should not be able to skip the line while their constituents wait,” she continued. DHS has been [shut down since Feb. 14](https://time.com/7378601/government-shutdown-congress-ice-dhs-democrats-polls/), as Democrats and Republicans have remained deadlocked over immigration enforcement. After federal officers [shot and killed two U.S. citizens](https://time.com/7368923/minneapolis-ice-operation-protests-renee-good-alex-pretti/) in January, Democrats demanded that [new guardrails](https://time.com/7358586/government-shutdown-democrat-demands-ice/) be put in place on immigration agents, refusing to back a bill funding DHS without such measures. But the White House and Republicans objected to Democrats’ demands, arguing that the proposals would hinder President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown. TSA officers, who fall under the purview of DHS, have been required to continue working even without pay during the shutdown, as they are considered essential workers. Many have called out of work in order to take on additional jobs to pay their bills, leading to staffing shortages that have resulted in hours-long security lines at some airports. On Monday, Trump [deployed](https://time.com/article/2026/03/23/ice-airports-homan-duffy-trump-administration/) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to some airports across the country—a move that he said was meant to help short-staffed TSA officers with airport security operations, but that sparked controversy among Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocacy organizations. During the ongoing shutdown, Democrats have [proposed legislation](https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/minority/senator-murray-responds-as-49-senate-republicans-vote-down-bill-to-pay-tsa) that would provide funding for some agencies that fall under the purview of DHS, including TSA, but not ICE. 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