If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it probably runs straight through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, where some unpaid TSA agents are still showing up to work while an incompetent Congress still collects its salary.

Around the country in recent days, weary travelers waited in long security lines at major airports, and some even missed their flights. According to internal TSA statistics obtained exclusively by CBS News, about 300 agents have quit their jobs as they missed their first paycheck due to a lack of Department of Homeland Security funding.

The long lines affected several major airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and two Houston airports − the George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport.

According to DHS, the partial government shutdown, which started a month ago, forces about 260,000 employees to work without pay, including TSA agents, Coast Guard personnel and Secret Service agents. 

The TSA itself isn't very effective. I think it should be scrapped, and airports should hire private security, but I know that's not likely to happen. Airport security is still vital, and TSA employees on the clock should still get paid for the job they're doing, especially if lawmakers who have forced the partial shutdown are still collecting tax-funded paychecks.

When politicians get paid while the people doing the work don't, that's not democracy. It's hypocrisy and an abuse of power.

Democrats are stalling the government because of Minnesota

On March 12, Senate Democrats defeated a motion that would continue a funding bill the House passed that would have reopened DHS. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans to advance the funding legislation.

The DHS bill included funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, agencies Democrats say need reform after their officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January.

It's been a month since congressional Democrats have voted to block DHS funding. It's gone too far.

I understand why Democrats have insisted on reforms to ICE and CBP. I don't doubt ICE and CBP could use some reform − particularly better training − but lawmakers should have continued to agree to address this separately and fund DHS so that these federal workers can get paid. Democrats and the White House agreed to do this in January for a couple of weeks, but the deal fell apart.

Holding DHS funding hostage as leverage to change immigration and border security seems counterintuitive and pretty dirty, especially when those same lawmakers aren't feeling real effects. The collateral damage affects two groups of Americans: federal employees as well as the everyday people they serve.

Congress shouldn't be this ineffective. It's embarrassing.

Republican lawmakers aren't totally off the hook either. They have a slight majority in Congress. But as you've seen with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) that's been tossed around like a hot potato, acting like they have power when they already do isn't exactly Republicans' strong suit. What's the point of having a majority if you don't use it to accomplish what needs to get done?

As one of my snarky teenage daughters is fond of saying, "You people can't do anything."

Both parties seem to have forgotten who they're working for lately. Republicans have failed to pass the SAVE Act because they won't bring it to the Senate floor and let it filibuster to exhaustion. Democrats are using ICE reform as leverage to refuse to reopen the federal government so workers can get paid.

In either case, Congress works for Americans, not for itself. You wouldn't know it by their behavior. Democrats refuse to pass a funding bill, Republicans have failed to pass the SAVE Act, yet they continue to draw a salary while thousands of American families go without paychecks.

The ripple effects of this reach far beyond homes, slowing airports and leaving countless travelers stranded.

In 2025, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, introduced the No Budget, No Pay Act that would have ensured members of Congress did not receive a paycheck until the federal government reopens following a shutdown. Democrats blocked the passage of that provision.

It's time that Americans know who is in Washington to represent them, their interests and their hard-earned taxpayer dollars – and who is there to start podcasts, grow a social media following and make some serious cash trading stocks.

I've long said that the federal government is too large, too incompetent and grossly expensive, costing taxpayers way too much money. Watching Congress continue to draw a salary while refusing to fix problems proves that.

America is a democracy, and Congress represents the people. If lawmakers are going to shut down the government, keeping workers from a paycheck, they shouldn't get paid, either.

Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.

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