Travel Delays Houston

The acting head of the Transportation Security Administration says it may have to shut down operations at some airports if the budget impasse drags on as travelers are experiencing record waiting times. In testimony Wednesday before a House committee, Ha Nguyen McNeill described the mounting hardships facing unpaid airport workers. Bills and eviction notices are piling up, and some workers are resorting to plasma donations to make ends meet. Her appearance on Capitol Hill comes as the latest offer to end a funding impasse and put restraints on President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda is running into fierce resistance. But there appears to be no end in sight on the 40th day of the stalemate involving the Department of Homeland Security.

Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport shows how the partial government shutdown is straining air travel as TSA workers miss shifts without pay. Long security lines have hobbled airports across the U.S. But problems at Bush Intercontinental have been more pronounced. Union and airport officials have offered a variety of reasons why Bush Intercontinental seems to be worse than other airports. These include the Houston airport having one of the highest callout rates among TSA workers in the country due to economic challenges, higher passenger traffic as the airport is a major hub for United Airlines, and a busy tourism month for Houston.

President Donald Trump says he will sign an order instructing the Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay Transportation Security Administration workers. The Senate is working late into the night to resolve the 41-day funding impasse that has jammed airports and left workers without paychecks. Trump announced his decision in a social media post saying he wanted to quickly stop the “Chaos at the Airports.” The White House and senators appear to be narrowing in on a endgame before TSA workers miss another paycheck Friday. Democrats have been refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security as they demand changes to rein in Trump’s immigration enforcement operations.