One week into a partial government shutdown driven by a funding standoff in Congress, the Department of Homeland Security announced sweeping emergency measures to conserve personnel and resources, including suspending Global Entry processing and ending courtesy airport escorts for Members of Congress.
In a release dated February 22, DHS said it was forced to take “emergency measures to preserve limited funds and personnel to mitigate the national security and public safety damage” resulting from the shutdown.
“This is the third time that Democrat politicians have shut down this department during the 119th Congress,” said Kristi Noem. “Shutdowns have real world consequences… it endangers our national security.”
Effective 6:00 a.m. ET on February 22, DHS directed its components to scale back to essential operations.
At the Transportation Security Administration, all “courtesy and special privilege escorts,” including those for Members of Congress, were suspended. DHS said the escorts draw officers away from their primary mission of screening passengers.
🚨 JUST IN: Instead of suspending PreCheck, TSA has suspended ESCORTS for members of Congress through airport security since the Democrats shut down DHS
They’re now forced to wait in line with everybody else 🤣
This is how it should be ALL the time! pic.twitter.com/2e8xOKNCtu
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 22, 2026
“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,” a TSA spokesperson said.
TSA PreCheck remains operational for now. After initial confusion about its status, DHS officials clarified to CBS News that PreCheck “should remain open,” though operations may be evaluated on an airport-by-airport basis depending on staffing constraints.
Global Entry, however, has been halted. As of 6:00 a.m. February 22, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped Global Entry arrival processing at participating airports. Officers previously assigned to process Global Entry travelers are being reassigned to primary inspection lanes for all other arriving travelers.
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who are Global Entry members must now proceed through standard primary processing lanes. Other members must use designated visitor lanes.
FEMA has also entered emergency operating status. The agency is scaling back to “bare-minimum, life-saving operations only.” All non-disaster-related activities are suspended, including long-term recovery efforts, project formulation, and administrative processing not tied to imminent threats.
Public Assistance for ongoing or legacy disasters will not move forward unless there is an active, immediate threat to life or public safety. Travel, deployments, and operational support are restricted to those strictly necessary for active disaster response.
“These actions reflect the reality of operating without appropriations,” DHS said. “FEMA cannot continue normal recovery operations under these conditions.”
The shutdown began February 14 after lawmakers failed to reach agreement on DHS funding. Democrats have demanded changes to the department in the wake of the deadly shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the administration’s response, calling the measures “bullying tactics.” Rep. Bennie Thompson, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, accused President Donald Trump and Noem of “purposely punishing the American people.”
DHS officials counter that the department must prioritize core security missions while operating without appropriations. Along with TSA, CBP, and FEMA, the shutdown is impacting the Coast Guard and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Noem emphasized that FEMA’s scaled-back posture is especially critical as a major winter storm is forecast to impact the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
“TSA and CBP are prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry and suspending courtesy and special privilege escorts,” Noem said.
DHS said normal operations will resume once funding is restored.
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