More Than 450 TSA Agents Quit During DHS Shutdown as Airport Delays Grow

Absences surged at major airports, with callout rates reaching 40.3 percent in Houston and 37.4 percent in Atlanta.

Passengers wait in long TSA lines as a partial government shutdown continues, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta on March 20, 2026. Megan Varner/Reuters

More than 450 Transportation Security Administration agents have quit since the start of the partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.

The partial shutdown has been ongoing since March 15, when funding for the agency lapsed without additional funding in place.