WASHINGTON — The Transportation Safety Administration has seized weapons, medication and even a taser disguised as a smartphone to maintain air vacationers protected — all whereas coping with a chronic authorities shutdown.
The political disaster in Congress has meant that TSA is working with practically half of its workforce furloughed because of Democrats’ opposition to funding the Division of Homeland Safety.
Upwards of 95% of TSA workers are nonetheless clocking in as a result of they’re deemed important employees amid the funding freeze — and their position is significant given the hundreds of threatening gadgets flagged within the earlier calendar yr.
Search officers in Miami recovered a pistol tucked into one passenger’s waistband on Aug. 24, 2025, resulting in an arrest by the Broward Sheriff’s Workplace.
At Los Angeles Worldwide Airport final Independence Day, a transportation safety specialist additionally uncovered a stuffed bear that had methamphetamine stowed inside it.
The medication had been seized and the passengers had been later placed on a Customs and Border Safety inside watchlist for the July 4, 2025, incident.
A lead transportation safety officer the next month additionally stopped a stun gun disguised a smartphone that was in a position to cleared the X-ray scanner.
Different passengers had been additionally caught attempting to sneak a lighter formed like a faux hand grenade, ammunition stuffed right into a neck pillow’s battery compartment, a quiver of arrows and a fake explosive — earlier than being stopped by officers at screening checkpoints.
TSA detected practically 11,500 harmful or prohibited gadgets by all screenings in 2025.
No less than 6,669 firearms had been additionally confiscated and one other 2,190 medication or different contraband gadgets had been additionally seized.
The company additionally took 577 hid knives, razor blades or different hid weapons — and fielded 313 bomb threats.
“Throughout this shutdown, TSA frontline employees are valiantly reporting to work and retaining our operations operating easily, guaranteeing thousands and thousands of passengers arrive at their locations safely and securely,” mentioned TSA’s Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill.
“On the identical time, they’re feeling the monetary pressure and stress of not realizing when paychecks had been coming,” McNeill added. “Many in our workforce might be topic to late charges and penalties for missed invoice funds, eviction notices, lack of long-term childcare preparations, and extra.”
TSA officers screening vacationers at airport safety checkpoints have up to now needed to work 42.8% of the 2026 fiscal yr, which started Oct. 1, on furlough after Democrats in Congress twice-voted by massive majorities to dam funding for DHS.
Most just lately, funding has been held up since Feb. 14 for the beleaguered division — which simply noticed the demotion of its Cupboard official — in protest of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota that led to the deadly shootings of two Americans.
On Thursday, the US Home of Representatives handed a invoice to reopen DHS, although most Democrats within the decrease chamber nonetheless voted it down — even after embattled Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem was proven the door by President Trump.
A companion to the invoice — which focuses on ICE, FEMA and TSA till Sept. 30 — didn’t cross the Senate the identical day in a 51-45 vote.
“Having stored DHS shut down now for 3 weeks and counting, Democrats will as soon as once more go away Washington at the moment and head to the airport, the place they may stroll previous among the 50,000 TSA brokers who’re lacking a part of their pay due to Senate Democrats,” Senate Majority Chief John Thune (R-SD) mentioned in a flooring speech afterward.
“Let’s be clear, this isn’t some principled stand by Democrats … it’s wanting rather a lot like Democrats simply need to preserve this alive as a political concern,” Thune added. “They’re all for politics, not coverage. And public security finally ends up struggling because of their choice to close down the Division of Homeland Safety.”
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the one Democrat who voted for the measure.
