Delta Airlines SUSPENDS Special Services for Congress Members Until DHS Shutdown Ends

Delta Air Lines has become the first major airline to hold Congress accountable for their own failure to get the DHS funded.

Until the shutdown ends, Delta is suspending all special services for members of Congress.

This includes special desk services and airport escorts.

Basically, members of Congress will be given the exact same treatment as any other flyer until the Democrat-fueled DHS shutdown ends.

Check it out:

BREAKING – Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian is receiving nationwide applause after stripping members of Congress of their special priority privileges in response to the Democrat led shutdown, calling it an “inexcusable” use of TSA agents as political chips. pic.twitter.com/d8Gx0QsBiE

— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) March 24, 2026

Delta suspends its special desk service for members of Congress until the Democrat shutdown of DHS is over:

“Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta.” pic.twitter.com/m5XOWbqHKD

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 24, 2026

Way to go, Delta!

It’s about time members of Congress experience the consequences of their own inaction, firsthand.

Maybe now they will be motivated to get the DHS funded again, quickly!

Delta is getting a lot of praise for the decision online.

Take a look at some of these responses:

I didn’t realize members of Congress had special flying privileges. That should have NEVER been a “rule” anyway.

Members of Congress need to live like the rest of us. No more special privileges for them.

— Mike01876 (@Mikem01876) March 24, 2026

Hey @ed_bastian America loves you. Well done @Delta 👏

— US Patriot 🇺🇸 (@NJ_USA_Patriot) March 24, 2026

About damn time someone in the airline world grew a spine and said enough is enough.

Those TSA folks are out here grinding without paychecks while politicians play their little games it’s straight-up wrong.

Good on Delta for yanking the special treatment from Congress…

— Affiliate_stanley (@Stanleyade01) March 24, 2026

All airlines need to do this. Not to mention there should not be one single politician getting a paycheck while hard working Americans can’t receive theirs, because democrats want to fight for illegals.

TSA can’t get paid, neither should congress

— Dante Henderson (@DanteHendo4188) March 24, 2026

By the way, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, GA — home of the busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield Jackson International.

The effects of the TSA not getting paid have hit particularly hard there.

The Hill reported:

The decision, first reported by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, comes days after the Senate unanimously approved a proposal to end the preferential treatment lawmakers receive at airports, including allowing them to skip the line at security checkpoints.

Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, where officials at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport — the world’s busiest airport — have told passengers to allow at least four hours to pass through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints for domestic and international flights due to “current federal conditions.”

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The Hill has reached out to Delta for further comment.

The backlog at airports nationwide has been worsening in recent days, as TSA faces mounting callouts from employees who have gone without pay since funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lapsed in mid-February. More than 400 TSA officers have quit the force altogether, according to DHS.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian was one of several airline executives who signed an open letter to Congress earlier this month, calling for a bipartisan solution to ensure federal aviation workers are paid during potential future shutdowns.

“TSA officers just received $0 paychecks. That is simply unacceptable. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid,” the CEOs wrote.

The staffing shortage has already prompted changes at some airports, such as closing checkpoints at certain terminals. Senior TSA officials have warned that the likelihood of more changes, including a potential pause in operations at smaller airports, increases with each day.

“This is going to get worse before it gets better, particularly if we don’t have a resolution within the coming days and weeks,” Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said during an appearance on NewsNation last week.

Thanks to President Trump deploying ICE agents to airports across the nation, we are seeing lines shrink drastically and everything starting to run a lot smoother.

But, this isn’t a permanent solution. Thousands of TSA agents have already missed multiple paychecks due to Democrats in Congress refusing to agree to a deal.

On that note, Republicans in Congress are now proposing a new deal to fund all of the DHS — except ICE, which they want to bundle with portions of the SAVE America Act.

NBC News has more on that:

Senate Republicans are buzzing with optimism that they’ve found a viable path to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, four sources familiar with negotiations between the White House and Congress told NBC News.

Republicans believe the framework could gain the support of President Donald Trump and secure enough Democratic support to quickly fund TSA and bring an end to long lines at airports.

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Asked after a White House meeting whether Republicans have a solution, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said: “We do.”

The path involves funding all of DHS with the exception of immigration enforcement and deportation operations under ICE.

Once DHS is largely functioning again, Republicans would attempt to use the filibuster-proof “reconciliation” process to fund the rest of ICE and pass limited portions of the SAVE America Act, an election bill that is Trump’s top priority.

A White House official told NBC News that conversations are still ongoing but that it seems to be an acceptable solution.

Hopefully, we will have a deal to re-open the DHS very soon.

Until then, all airlines should follow in the footsteps of Delta and deny any special privileges to members of Congress.

Do you agree?