The government shutdown is starting to have real consequences that will affect the common people this holiday season. Ahead of Thanksgiving, Americans can expect longer waiting times at airport screenings as TSA employees will be missing their first full paycheck this Friday.
Talking about how missing the first full paycheck on October 24 might affect the TSA workforce, one TSA veteran told Forbes, “We will definitely see an uptick in call-offs and maybe even resignations.”
While TSA management is using strong-arm tactics to ensure that staff members show up at work and do not call in sick, the overall morale of the workforce is crumbling, as another TSA official confirmed. Caleb Harmon-Marshall, a former TSA officer, talked to CBS News about the issue and mentioned that “officers start to get frantic, and they stop going to work” when a shutdown lasts for over two weeks.
This means that the general American population, who have plans to travel this holiday season to meet their families, will not have a smooth experience at the airport. Longer waiting time means more frustration on the part of the passengers. The shutdown might also affect the schedule of the flights.
Moreover, TSA might have to operate with a smaller workforce after the first paycheck is missed by the employees and that would mean extra pressure on those who are working.
Amid all this chaos, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took this opportunity to bash the Democrats and blame them for the government shutdown. Taking to X, Leavitt posted, “With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, we are nearing the busiest travel period of the entire year, when millions of Americans will use airports to travel to see their loved ones.”
She further added, “Let us be very clear from the White House: if the Democrats continue to keep the government closed up until Thanksgiving, we fear there will be significant flight delays, disruptions, and cancellations in major airports across the country.”
With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, we are nearing the busiest travel period of the entire year, when millions of Americans will use airports to travel to see their loved ones.
Let us be very clear from the White House: if the Democrats continue to keep the government… pic.twitter.com/XsqADBG7oz
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) October 23, 2025
She then mentioned, “It does not have to be this way – if Democrats would just vote to REOPEN the government and end their reckless shutdown.”
Netizens clearly saw through what she was doing, as one person commented, “Airports shutting down for Thanksgiving sounds like the perfect plot twist Republicans have been waiting for turning family vacations into full-blown reality TV. Nothing brings people together like arguing over luggage, missed flights, and blaming Democrats for a mess that’s somehow everyone’s fault at once.”
Airports shutting down for Thanksgiving sounds like the perfect plot twist Republicans have been waiting for turning family vacations into full-blown reality TV. Nothing brings people together like arguing over luggage, missed flights, and blaming Democrats for a mess that’s…
— John O. (@okeoghene30) October 23, 2025
Another user added, “Republicans are keeping it closed. Try getting it right for once.” A third user pointed out, “The government does nothing for us. And it’s not even shut down, taxes will still come out of everyone’s check tomorrow.”
One user decided to quote Trump himself regarding the situation. They posted Trump’s 2013 quote when he had said, “A shutdown falls on the president’s lack of leadership. I mean the top, and they have to get solved from the top. A shutdown means the President is weak.”
However, now that the shutdown situation is worsening, Leavitt very conveniently put all the blame on the Democrats. Regardless of whose fault it is, the common people of the US are going to have a hard time this Thanksgiving, especially if they have plans to travel by air.
