The U.S. Senate moved late Thursday to strip lawmakers of their ability to bypass airport security lines, voting to subject members of Congress to the same Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening procedures as ordinary travelers while TSA officers continue working without pay during a protracted partial government shutdown.
According to the Daily Caller, the End Special Treatment for Congress at Airports Act, authored by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, cleared the chamber by unanimous consent in a near-empty Senate, with no member present to lodge an objection. The vote came as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown approached its 35th day, tying it for the second-longest in U.S. history, even as TSA personnel struggle to handle a surge in spring break travel under increasingly strained conditions.
Cornyn framed the measure as a basic matter of fairness and accountability, arguing that lawmakers should not be insulated from the consequences of their own inaction. Maybe, just maybe, if Congress has to live under the same laws that everybody else does, it will motivate us to get our work done. In other words to fund the [DHS], Cornyn said on the Senate floor Thursday night.
He added that ordinary Americans should not bear the brunt of Washingtons dysfunction while elected officials enjoy special treatment at airports. So no American, no air traveler will have to suffer the disruption and tribulations that many, many travelers are having to experience now. Its not too much to expect that Congress will be subject to the rules as everybody else.
Under Cornyns bill, members of Congress would be required to undergo the same TSA screening as the general public, and federal funds could no longer be used to allow them to skip ahead of security lines. Lawmakers would still be permitted to use TSA PreCheck, a program available to any qualifying traveler willing to submit to background checks and pay the associated fee.
Cornyns office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundations request for comment on the legislation or its prospects in the House. The measure must still clear the lower chamber before heading to President Donald Trumps desk, where it would await his signature; TSA operates under the umbrella of DHS, the very department at the center of the funding standoff.
Public anger over congressional perks has intensified as images of lawmakers gliding past lines of unpaid TSA workers and frustrated travelers circulate online. Videos posted to social media showing Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida moving swiftly through security while others waited in hours-long queues have fueled bipartisan outrage among voters who see a political class detached from everyday realities.
The optics are particularly stark given the financial strain on TSAs roughly 50,000 agents, who last received only a partial paycheck on Feb. 28 and have been working without pay ever since. Unsurprisingly, more officers are calling out sick as they endure yet another shutdown that effectively suspends their income while demanding full performance of their duties.
Unlike the previous 43-day government shutdown that began in October and ended before the heavy Thanksgiving travel period, the current DHS funding lapse is colliding directly with peak spring break traffic. Security lines at some airports have reportedly stretched out of terminals and into parking lots, underscoring the real-world consequences of Washingtons budget brinkmanship.
Airline industry leaders and aviation unions have urged Congress to resolve its disputes and restore funding, warning that the system is under mounting stress and that safety and reliability could be compromised if the standoff continues. The shutdown is having very real consequences, and hardworking federal aviation workers, the airline industry and our passengers are being used as a political football once again. This is simply unacceptable and un-American, Airlines for America president and CEO Chris Sununu, a former Republican governor of New Hampshire, said in a statement.
Cornyns high-profile push to end congressional airport privileges comes as he faces a costly and contentious runoff primary against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a race that has drawn intense interest from conservatives nationwide. President Donald Trump and Cornyns fellow Texas Republican, Sen. Ted Cruz, have so far stayed out of the contest, though Trump has said he will issue an endorsement soon, while Paxton has pledged to exit the race if the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, a backdrop against which Cornyn recently reversed course and called for eliminating the Senates 60-vote filibuster threshold after defending it in 2022, raising questions among conservatives about consistency even as he champions equal treatment for lawmakers at airport security.
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