TSA Suddenly Suspends PreCheck, Global Entry As DHS Shutdown Continues

Update (1200ET): It appears the potential blowback from shutting PreCheck and Global Entry was just too much to bear as Jake Sherman reports the Trump admin has reverted back to normal on PreCheck but has adjusted its policy in response to the govt shutdown.

“At this time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public.

As staffing constraints arise, TSA will 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.”

All of which left us wondering – Why do members of Congress get a courtesy escort?

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American air travelers were set up for quite a rude Sunday shock, as the Department of Homeland Security suddenly decided to suspend two optional programs that promise fliers speedier passage through TSA security checkpoints in exchange for money. The move, first reported by the Washington Post on Saturday night and still unannounced by the TSA on its website or X account in the early Sunday morning hours, is supposedly necessitated by the ongoing shutdown of DHS.   

According to the Post, the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs will be temporarily suspended effective 6am ET on Sunday. The government’s failure to provide advance notice will put unknowing travelers at risk of missing flights, as many will have no idea that they should have adjusted their plans to allow additional time to wait in security lines.

As if a major blizzard weren’t enough, TSA sprang a PreCheck shutdown on travelers with no advance warning (file photo – Getty via Politico)

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, already enmeshed in controversy and questions about her leadership of the department, told the Post that the shutdown was forcing TSA to make “tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions,” with priority given to “general traveling populations.” Never mind that PreCheck enrollees typically pay $85 for five years of access to a speedier security process, or that Global Entry sets travelers back $120 for five years. The latter program includes PreCheck benefits and also provides expedited customs processes when returning from abroad.

About a third of US passengers use PreCheck — some of them at no cost, such as military service members, Department of Defense civilian employees, and people enrolled in some credit card reward programs. However, the closure of PreCheck will also affect those who aren’t in the program, since the regular lines are set to grow 50% larger on Sunday.  

Compounding the potential aggravation, Noem’s ambush on PreCheck and Global Entry travelers coincides with the pending arrival of a blizzard that’s set to hammer parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States on Sunday and overnight.  Some forecasts predict upwards of one or two feet of snow being dumped on major cities like Philadelphia, New York and Boston, paralyzing major airports. Airlines have already proactively cancelled thousands of flights.  

Why the eff did we pay for TSA PreCheck if these MFers can’t keep it going???

— John Laxa (@damomoo) February 22, 2026

It’s hard to gauge the extent to which this move is truly required, but we’re compelled to note that there’s a history of presidential administrations deliberately imposing inconveniences on the American people and attributing them to their opponents’ failure to fund government agencies. In the most absurd example, the Obama administration said a lack of funding compelled it to spend money putting barricades and guards around statues and open-air sites that aren’t typically manned by federal employees. 

On Saturday, Noem blamed Democrats for the no-notice PreCheck and Global Entry suspensions: 

“This is the third time that Democrat politicians have shut down this department during the 119th Congress. Shutdowns have serious real world consequences, not just for the men and women of DHS and their families who go without a paycheck, but it [sic] endangers national security.”

Democrats on the House Homeland Security committee countered with their own spin: 

TRUMP’S DHS IS PUNISHING TRAVELERS⁰⁰TSA PreCheck and Global Entry reduce lines and ease the burden on DHS staff ⁰⁰But Kristi Noem and her “confidant” Corey Lewandowski are kneecapping the programs that make travel smoother and secure⁰⁰They’re ruining your travel on purpose https://t.co/kBtiM4Urn9

— Homeland Dems (@HomelandDems) February 22, 2026

The DHS shutdown started on Valentine’s Day, and came after Democrats refused to vote for the department’s funding unless the measure also imposes new requirements and limitations on offices enforcing immigration law. Demands have included a ban on agents wearing masks, requirements to have body cameras, refraining from immigration arrests without first obtaining judicial warrants, and ending roving patrols. 

At the moment, there’s little reason to think the DHS shutdown will end anytime soon. The ICE controversies have emerged as a major leftist rallying point heading into party primaries and the fall midterms, which means Democrats are under huge pressure from their partisans to “resist.” Republicans feel they’ve already ceded ground, agreeing to some provisions, but drawing a line against the warrant, unmasking and roving-patrol demands. “Their whole game here is political theater. This is about them wanting to keep it shut down through the State of the Union,” said Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin last week. 

Democrats’ demands came after the ICE shooting deaths of aggressive anti-ICE activists in Minnesota, in two separate incidents. “Funding for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security should not move forward in the absence of dramatic changes that are bold, meaningful, and transformational,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries earlier this month.

In the first incident, Renee Good, who’d used her vehicle to impede ICE officers’ travel, ignored officers’ orders, and then drove her SUV in dangerous proximity to a dismounted ICE agent:

BREAKING: Alpha News has obtained cellphone footage showing perspective of federal agent at center of ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis pic.twitter.com/p2wks0zew0

— Alpha News (@AlphaNews) January 9, 2026

In the second Minnesota incident, Alex Pretti was being apprehended by ICE agents when one of them apparently had an unintended discharge of the pistol he drew from Pretti’s holster — causing panicked fellow officers to shoot Pretti to death. 

Pretti’s gun ‘ACCIDENTALLY’ shoots as it’s grabbed by Ice PANICKING agents to kill him — ex-Pentagon gun expert footage pic.twitter.com/LcksqZDvyY

— RT (@RT_com) January 26, 2026

The PreCheck and Global Entry shutdown would seem to carry significant political risk for Republicans in general and Noem in particular. Noem is already on shaky ground, having been faulted for making rushed, fact-challenged statements following the ICE shooting incidents, and with the Wall Street Journal reporting that her DHS tenure has been marked by internal chaos and resentments over Noem’s alleged prioritization of her own self-promotion. The latter phenomenon has seen Noem flit from photo op to photo op, donning a variety of outfits and earning the nickname “ICE Barbie.”