Delta CEO blasts Congress over unpaid TSA agents as airport chaos continues: Were outraged

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian tore into Congress for forcing airport security agents to work without pay, calling the situation “inexcusable” and accusing lawmakers of using frontline workers as “political chips” while a partial government shutdown drags into its fifth week.“It’s inexcusable that our security agents, our frontline agents, that are essential to what we do, are not being paid, and it’s ridiculous to see them being used as political chips,” Bastian told CNBC on Tuesday.“We’re outraged.”The airline boss said Delta is already seeing the impact, with staffing shortages at security checkpoints fueling longer lines and delays at major hubs — including Atlanta, where extended wait times flared over the weekend.“We certainly are [seeing it],” Bastian said, noting the disruptions tend to hit hardest on weekends.He said weather worsened the situation but stressed the underlying issue is unpaid workers.The standoff in Washington has left about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers working without pay since mid-February after lawmakers failed to fund the Department of Homeland Security.Last week, Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would restore funding to DHS for the fourth time in the past month as more than 5,000 flights were delayed and 500 others were cancelled.“Speaker Johnson has led the House twice now in passing a bill that fully funds the Department of Homeland Security – including for paychecks for TSA workers,” a spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told The Post.“The House passed this legislation [in January] before the department shut down, and then again [earlier this month].Senate Democrats have of course blocked this legislation multiple times now, and an overwhelming majority of House Democrats have refused to vote to fund the department as well.”“House Democrats and Senate Democrats have joined together – the same group that gave us wide open borders and defunding the ...