TSA agents could be getting paid as early as Monday after going weeks without a check due to the partial government shutdown. President Trump signed an executive order to make sure they start receiving their checks again.
Some airports around the country have experienced long delays in their security lines after some agents called out sick. The Department of Homeland Security reported that 10 percent of the officers scheduled to work last Saturday called out, and that hundreds of officers quit their jobs since the start of the shutdown.
While LAX hasn’t seen the worst of the long lines KNX News ’ Jon Baird spoke with one TSA officer who said he and his colleagues had “uplifted spirits” after the paychecks started arriving again because now they can pay rent or mortgages and all of their other bills.
Baird also spoke with travelers who said they’re happy the agents are finally getting their checks.
“They should have been paid long ago,” one man said. “It's a crime the way these people have been treated. So, I commend them for staying by.”
“I think it's very important that the people who are doing the work to keep us safe are also being compensated fairly for the work that they do,” another man said.
The partial government shutdown has now reached 44 days, making it the longest shutdown in US history.
