The Democrats’ refusal to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has already created dire conditions for travelers, but they may soon become much worse, according to one high-ranking government official.
Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl warned that the nation’s airports could “quite literally shut down” if Democrats stubbornly continue to block DHS funding to extort the GOP into making sweeping changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency they are determined to dismantle.
Stahl appeared on Tuesday’s edition of “Fox & Friends” on Fox News, telling co-host Ainsley Earhardt that the Democrats’ partial government shutdown has hit the TSA hard, with agents not getting paid, hundreds already having been forced to resign, and callout rates climbing, slowing the screening process to a crawl, which is causing insanely long lines at airports.
Acting Deputy @TSA Administrator Adam Stahl on how the Democrats’ shutdown of @DHSgov is impacting air travel:
“We’re fully stretched… if this continues, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports.”
Democrats need to fund DHS! pic.twitter.com/js4EQFUVkN
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 17, 2026
Asked by Earhardt about the staffing problems and whether the TSA could start calling in retired employees for the Spring Break travel week, Stahl said that the situation has already stretched the agency’s resources to the limit.
“We’re doing absolutely everything we can,” Stahl said. “We have a National Deployment Office force, and we’ve fully depleted that, so at this point, we’re fully stretched, and so frankly, there’s not much else we can do. As the weeks continue, if this continues, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones, if callout rates go up and we can’t — a lot of these officers can’t afford to come in.”
“I talked to one officer this week, she’s a single mother, and she has a special needs child, and she can’t afford to pay for her special needs child’s child care,” he added. “I believe it’s frankly unconscionable that we have Senate Democrats that are playing…that are holding our folks’ financial livelihood hostage over political games, political partisanship, so we really need to get back to normal order.”
The TSA employees and air travelers are just more collateral damage in the Democrats’ war on America.
Just months after Democrats orchestrated the longest shutdown in U.S. history, they’re at it again—hurting hardworking DHS & TSA heroes.
❌ Over 360 TSA officers have already quit
❌ Callouts spiked over 50% in some cities
❌ Thousands of Americans face massive airport delays… pic.twitter.com/090iiISJi5— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 17, 2026
“They are well-trained, they’re dedicated employees, and they show up. The overwhelming majority show up every single day,” Stahl told the host.
“We are focused on making sure the integrity of the security system, aviation security system, remains intact and that’s why we may need to collapse lanes at select airports, but if there’s not action taken, particularly from Senate Democrats, this is gonna get worse, it’s not gonna get better and there will be significant pain by the passengers while three, four hour wait times at select airports,” he said.
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