This doesn’t strike me as being terribly logical, or as a winning strategy politically… but maybe it’ll get reversed within hours, kind of like that El Paso Airport (ELP) shut down?
In this post:
DHS shuts down TSA PreCheck & Global Entry with bad logic
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is suspending both the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs (which offer expedited security and immigration, respectively). This applies as of 6AM ET on Sunday, February 22, 2026. To be clear, we’re not just talking about enrollment being suspended, but we’re talking about actual use of the programs being suspended.
This is being blamed on the current partial government shutdown that we’re seeing, which is due to Democrats and the White House being unable to reach a deal on legislation to fund the DHS, with Democrats demanding changes to immigration operations that are key to President Trump’s deportation efforts. During shutdowns, government employees may not be paid, so the concern is that fewer workers will show up.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said in a statement that “shutdowns have serious real world consequences,” and “TSA and CBP are prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry and suspending courtesy and special privilege escorts.”
Democrats on the House Committee on Homeland Security have criticized this decision, saying that the Trump administration is “kneecapping the programs that make travel smoother and secure,” and is accusing the Trump administration of “ruining your travel on purpose.”
This is intended to punish the public, make a point
Let’s take politics out of this for a moment. The intent of TSA PreCheck and Global Entry is that it expedites the security and immigration processes, by granting these privileges to prescreened travelers. So it doesn’t just save travelers time, but it also saves those performing the screening services time… it’s more efficient for everyone!
TSA PreCheck lanes screen more people her hour than standard screening lanes, since the screening standards aren’t quite as strict. The same is true for Global Entry, where much of the work with clearing travelers is done by machines.
So if you have concerns about staffing shortages — as is being claimed here — keeping those services open should be a priority. Like, I don’t need to write another 10 paragraphs about this, because it’s that simple… that’s just the truth.
If you need to screen 100 travelers and have fixed resources, would you rather have a system where each passenger takes two minutes to be screened, or a system where half of the passengers take two minutes to be screened, and the other half take one minute to be screened? Because that’s what’s happening here.
Would anyone like to make a counterpoint (other than accusing others of having “TDS”)? What Noem is saying here is complete drivel:
- “Shutdowns have serious real world consequences” — you’re right that they do, but this one that you’re manufacturing isn’t among them
- “TSA and CBP are prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry” — okay, then keep the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs going, because screening those passengers more efficiently will leave more time to screen the “general traveling population”
Bottom line
The Trump administration has shut down the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs. This is being done due to the partial government shutdown, and the claim is that this is so that screeners can focus on the general population of travelers. That makes no sense, though — TSA PreCheck and Global Entry require less staffing than standard lanes, so this will make the situation worse for the average traveler, and not better.
Would anyone care to defend this policy? Can anyone help me understand Noem’s math or logic?
Is TSA has to make staffing cuts, what alternative do you feel would be more efficient? I honestly can’t think of any alternative, besides closing the general lane and having non-PreCheck people using the PreCheck lane.
Insanity is the party that lost the election (you know, democracy) getting to hold the country hostage for their extreme demands, while the party in control of POTUS, SCOTUS, house and Senate is powerless to do anything. This is unsustainable.
Do we know if Nexus is also suspended?
This its crazy.
this is one article that the topic IS political.
The blue team desperately wants to reform ICE even though it has its own budget that is fully funded and is willing again to shut down even part of the government to prove their point.
TSA and other parts of DHS are caught in the middle of the partial government shutdown that has no end in sight absent forcing the issue of funding the...
this is one article that the topic IS political.
The blue team desperately wants to reform ICE even though it has its own budget that is fully funded and is willing again to shut down even part of the government to prove their point.
TSA and other parts of DHS are caught in the middle of the partial government shutdown that has no end in sight absent forcing the issue of funding the entirety of the government.
People talk about the clown that is in the WH but Congress has a lower approval rating than any President for years. It is this kind of bipartisan inability to work together which has divided Washington and the US.
People's salaries should not be held hostage to political ideology. Not paying government workers has to end whether you like what the government does or not.
If there is ANY good news in all of this, there are and will be thousands of flights cancelled due to winter weather over the next couple of days.
The bad news is that my flights this week are not expected to cancel.
@ Tim Dunn -- What does any of this have to do with the topic at hand? Making screening more time consuming is not a solution to staffing shortages. Do you agree or disagree with this policy change?
Hmm - I wonder if the nice immigration guys who come to my plane when I land at TEB or PBI to clear me at the aircraft will also be suspended?
Was surprised during the last shutdown I was able to get my kids new passport an GE set up. Turns out because there are fees they are considered self sustaining. Makes this even more illogical.
Are they suspending Known Crew and Congressional escorts as well?
Not the story you want see waking up in an airport hotel. My morning is going to be a lot more hectic.
So since we paid for 5 years, do we get a refund of the unused years?....You know, kinda like the refunds we're going to get from the illegal tariff fees?...Oh, wait...
Believe it or not- the combined program population is around 25 or 30 million. Less than 10% of the population. It will have little to no impact with John Q. Public but will certainly piss off "elites" (big donors, members of congress, etc).
@ John G -- As of August 2024, the number was over 40 million. And of course even those without TSA PreCheck and Global Entry will be negatively impacted by this in terms of having to wait longer, due to less efficient screening. But you're right, I'm sure the people who think we're more respected than ever before in the world also won't in any way blame Trump for this.
The numbers I used exclude non-citizen members (LPRs on Pre-check, Global Entry participating countries). And if I was a betting man (and I am), I would predict other massive changes to both of those programs. If you do some poking around in the CFR's filed open for commentary, you will see what I'm talking about.
@ John G -- Fascinating. Do you have a link/could you point me in the right direction?
Another flaw in this logic is the assumption of all 300M+ Americans travel by air (internationally to be able to use GE). If you apply more filters of people who have passports and who actually travel frequently/internationally, the numerator gets much smaller, and thus the percentage of impacted TSE/GE enrolled pax much higher.
Is clear still operating?
Elect a criminal, a clown, and a pedophile protector, and this is what you end up. Doing it twice? That's a national disgrace.
Unfortunately I think your mistake is expecting our looking for logic, Ben - there is none!
100% correct
I was pretty sure the WSJ wrote Kristi Noem’s political obituary earlier this month, but somehow she’s dragged on. This is the shortsighted and self centered BS that makes her not up for the job. This isn’t even about politics. It’s basic economics and personnel management. It takes more people and more resources to screen passengers when you take this program away. Plus, she didn’t suspend these programs during a much broader 43 day government...
I was pretty sure the WSJ wrote Kristi Noem’s political obituary earlier this month, but somehow she’s dragged on. This is the shortsighted and self centered BS that makes her not up for the job. This isn’t even about politics. It’s basic economics and personnel management. It takes more people and more resources to screen passengers when you take this program away. Plus, she didn’t suspend these programs during a much broader 43 day government shutdown. This will be a self-inflicted political wound.
Another retribution punishment from maga incompetence. Why try to logically solve a problem when you can make it worse
Both parties pull this garbage. President Obama had park rangers put up signs at monuments along the National Mall saying they were closed due to Congress (then GOP controlled) not funding the government. It was petty and actually cost more resources to enforce. This is not an excuse for Noem’s decisions. I wish politicians didn’t act like children, but that’s what we seem to get.
An absolutely effective way to punish the traveling public. And I hope my fellow travelers will return the favor to Congressional Republicans this November.
Republicans would say that this is the Democrats’ fault for not funding the one department with “security” in its name. Of course that doesn’t mean Noem had to do this. It’s her decision to hurt the public in this way, and by proxy the President owns that decision. I say this only to note that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the aisle. Both parties are myopic and focused on generating outrage.