ORLANDO, Fla. — For the third time in six months, TSA officers are going to work without getting paid as they face the uncertainty of when their next paycheck will be.

What You Need To Know

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed on Saturday since Congress is still at odds over spending on immigration enforcement

DHS oversees the Coast Guard, Secret Service, FEMA, TSA and ICE

 Once again this week, TSA officers are going to work and not getting paid until funding resumes

It will be at least a week before congress is back in session to make any movement towards funding

It all started with the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which happened in the fall of 2025, when TSA employees went to work for 43 days without pay. Then, at the end of January, a partial government shutdown impacted only certain agencies, including TSA, but that one was resolved within four days.

But, starting Saturday, funding lapsed for agencies under the Department of Homeland Security, which, yes, again, includes TSA officers.

On Monday, the wait times are normal at the Orlando International Airport, but depending on how long this goes on, it will depend on the impact for travelers. TSA officers continued to show up for the 43-day shutdown and the partial shutdown earlier this month, but with more uncertainty ahead, they tell Spectrum News 13, it’s getting more difficult to show up.

It’s become a frequent request: come to work now and get paid later.

“It’s taxing and it’s exhausting,” said Joseph Groover, the first vice president for the AFGE Local 556 Union. “People are definitely discouraged, they are still showing up because I mean it is a job, it is what we all signed up to do, but they are definitely getting discouraged.”

Groover took out loans, maxed out credit cards and will still be playing catch-up the rest of the year financially from the record 43-day shutdown.

“Realistically, it was about 56 days before people started getting paid and there were people that finally just got their pay sorted maybe last pay period, so the longer it goes on, the longer the effect will be,” Groover said.

Since the last partial shutdown lasted only a few days, Groover said there weren’t any impacts, but he said this one feels different.

“Somewhat worried this time, I hope it is not going to be as long as the previous shutdown was, but something tells me it might be due to the political climate around the decision to not fund DHS,” he said.

TSA falls under DHS, but the federal government started with three departments: state, war and treasury.

“Things evolve over time,” said Dr. Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida.

Jewitt said Congress has the power to create agencies but must decide which department they fall and fund them.

“In the 20th century, we really saw the federal government start to get involved in a lot more specific policy areas and so you saw the creation of a bunch more departments and agencies,” Jewett said.

The newest department, Homeland Security, was founded in 2003 as a response to the 9/11 attacks. The department oversees the Coast Guard, Secret Service, FEMA, TSA and ICE.

“It seems to me that, again, all of those agencies have to do with homeland security and that is why it was created in the first place,” Jewett said.

The current disagreement in Congress is over funding of immigration enforcement and how federal dollars should be spent.

“It is a shame that the TSA agents and the FEMA personal are caught in the crossfire with the dispute over ICE,” Jewett said.

It will be at least a week before Congress is back in session to make any movement towards funding.

“Stop using us as a bargaining chip,” Groover said.

The AFGE Local 556 union tells Spectrum News 13 they are getting prepared to help with gas cards and other help for workers, but all the resources are running low. Union leaders are also worried since this lapse in funding impacts a much smaller pool of people, that the help will be less too.