Lawmakers reckon with question of special treatment at airport security amid DHS shutdown

Source: CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Mar 20, 2026, 4:19 PM ET


More than a month into the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are reckoning with their own travel privileges amid anxieties the funding crunch could exacerbate issues at already understaffed airports around the country.

Lawmakers typically are allowed expedited screenings and to request security escorts at airports as they travel to and from Washington. Escorts, the Transportation Security Administration says, have been paused amid the funding stalemate. But the shutdown’s impacts to TSA, which falls under DHS, have raised fresh questions about how members of Congress travel and whether they should be afforded any preferential treatment.

The US Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would require members of Congress moving forward to go through the same security screening procedures as all passengers and end the use of federal funding for their expedited access. CNN has reached out to House leadership on the legislation. The bill’s future in the GOP-led House wasn’t immediately clear Friday, but some have already come out in support of ending such privileges.

“Public servants should not get special treatment or special access, ever, on any front. That’s how I feel about it,” GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania told CNN. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said the issue is resonating with his constituents. “Increasingly, I hear it at town hall meetings — people want senators treated like everybody else,” he said.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/20/politics/congress-airport-security-escorts-dhs-shutdown