A senior Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official warned Thursday that the growing backlog at airport security checkpoints nationwide is likely "going to get worse before it gets better" as staffing becomes more strained as a result of the lingering Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.
Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told NewsNation host Blake Burman that the likelihood of a temporary pause in operations at smaller airports across the U.S. is increasing amid a rising employee callout rate.
"As this goes on without any sort of resolution from Congress, particularly from Senate Democrats, our folks will continue to call out," Stahl said during an appearance on "The Hill."
"And so again, small airports may be particularly impacted because they have fewer lanes and they have fewer people, and so, if a certain three or four out of 10 employees call out, we may, to ensure we're not degrading security, we may have to temporarily suspend operations at those airports," he continued.
Stahl sidestepped questions about how many airports could be impacted, insisting there was no single "breaking point" in making the determination.
"It will vary very much airport to airport," he said. "Callout rates are one of many factors that help to inform our security footprint at every single airport, but again I can tell you, this is going to get worse before it gets better, particularly if we don't have a resolution within the coming days and weeks."
Passengers traveling through U.S. airports have been met with long lines at security checkpoints as unpaid TSA workers call out sick or quit the force altogether.
More than 360 TSA officers have left the force since the shutdown began in mid-February, according to DHS. The agency also reported that callout rates spiked to more than 50 percent in Houston and 30 percent in New Orleans and Atlanta earlier this week.
The staffing shortage has already prompted TSA to close several terminal checkpoints at large airports such as the Philadelphia International Airport.
Stahl advised travelers to "show up early" and check for updates from local airports and individual airlines.
The DHS shutdown is now in its fifth week, with Democrats and Republicans appearing no closer to reaching an agreement to restore funding to the agency.
Democrats are holding firm in their demands to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers participating in immigration enforcement operations, insisting White House counterproposals -- which have included some concessions -- are insufficient.
Republicans, meanwhile, have blocked Democratic attempts to force a vote to fund agencies within the department, such as TSA, but exclude ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
Stahl criticized Congress on Thursday for holding TSA "hostage" in the funding fight.
"To hold an entire department hostage, particularly over policy concerns, is, frankly, reckless, and it's, I really think it's, it threatens, really the foundational, you know, job of Congress at large to fund the appropriations process, to fund the executive branch," he said.