The Department of Homeland Security is backtracking on its announcement that it was suspending the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck and Global Entry programs as the agency contends with a partial government shutdown that has entered its second week.
In a statement to CBS News on Sunday, a spokesperson for TSA said that PreCheck “remains operational with no change for the traveling public.” It said that if staffing constraints arise due to the ongoing shutdown, it would “evaluate on a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly.”
“Courtesy escorts, such as those for Members of Congress, have been suspended to allow officers to focus on the mission of securing America’s skies,” the spokesperson said.
Two DHS officials told CBS News on Sunday that there are no changes to Global Entry and that the changes were reversed mid-morning.
On Saturday, DHS officials said the TSA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency would enter emergency operating status at 6 a.m. ET Sunday. This meant that FEMA would suspend all non-disaster-related responses, while TSA programs PreCheck and Global Entry, as well as all courtesies for members of Congress and family police escorts at airports, would be suspended.
FEMA and TSA will resume normal operations when the shutdown concludes, DHS said Saturday.
Customs and Border Protection will also be suspending Global Entry, and all officers assigned to process Global Entry travelers will be reassigned to process all other arriving travelers.
In a statement provided to CBS News late Saturday night, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that TSA and CBP “are prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry and suspending courtesy and special privilege escorts.”
The partial shutdown took effect on Feb. 14 after lawmakers failed to reach a deal on DHS funding over opposition from Democrats who demanded changes to the agency in the wake of the deadly shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last month by federal immigration agents.
Along with the TSA, the partial shutdown is impacting the FEMA, the Coast Guard, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency and other agencies within DHS that safeguard national security. About 13% of the total federal civilian workforce is implicated.
The move drew criticism from Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security.
“These nitwits are at it again,” Thompson said in a statement, accusing President Trump and Noem of “purposely punishing the American people and using them as pawns for their sadistic political games. TSA PreCheck and Global Entry REDUCE airport lines and ease the burden on DHS staff who are working without pay because of Trump’s abuse of the Department and killing of American citizens.”
On Sunday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the moves “bullying tactics” by the Trump administration.
“The Trump administration is choosing to inflict pain on the public instead of adopting common sense ICE reforms,” he said in a statement. “In the 43-day historic Trump government shutdown DHS never changed the Global Entry program’s status. Democrats are fighting against this exact kind of abuse.”
TSA PreCheck is a membership program that allows travelers to speed through airport security screenings more quickly after first submitting an application, undergoing a TSA background check and paying a fee. Only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are eligible. As of 2024, more than 20 million people were enrolled in TSA PreCheck.
Global Entry is a similar U.S. Customs and Border Protection program designed for those who frequently travel internationally. Along with U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, it is also available to citizens of nearly two dozen other countries.
Noem, meanwhile, citing the powerful winter storm that is expected to hit the Northeast Sunday, also said in her statement that FEMA would be halting “all non-disaster related response to prioritize disasters.”
“This is particularly important given this weekend another significant winter storm is forecast to impact the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States,” Noem said.
The partial shutdown follows a 43-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, that ended in November. That shutdown was driven primarily by a demand from Democrats that expiring health insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act be extended. TSA employees were forced to work without pay during that time — receiving backpay when the shutdown ended — and are now doing the same again.