Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal workers union, warned lawmakers on Tuesday not to leave Washington for Easter recess without first reaching a deal to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and other government employees. The partial government shutdown has now stretched to 39 days.
"Don't even think about going home for Easter recess while tens of thousands of American families are going without paychecks," Kelley said at a virtual press conference Tuesday. "Do not get on a plane that a TSA officer screened for free and fly home for Easter dinner and tell these people that you're working on it."
Kelley threw his support behind a reported deal to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, including TSA, whose officers have worked for weeks without pay. However, the AFGE president expressed reluctance to fully embrace the news reports without seeing concrete legislative text.
"Now, we're hearing that there may be a deal to fund most of DHS and get their workers paid. Let me be clear about where AFGE stands: If there's a real deal on the table with real legitimate text, legislative text, then let's get paychecks into the members' hands. We want to see it move. Not tomorrow, not Friday, but today. Not Easter, but today," Kelley said.
"Because here's what I know: We've been hearing about progress and optimism for weeks. Our members cannot eat optimism. They cannot pay rent with progress. They need a paycheck," he continued.
What the Left Is Saying
Democrats have rejected the Republican-backed proposal to fund most of DHS and said they would propose a counteroffer that includes their demands for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Senate Democrats have repeatedly rebuffed Republican offers, insisting that any DHS funding bill must address their ICE reform demands. Progressive lawmakers and labor advocates have supported the union's call for immediate action, arguing that workers should not be held hostage to broader political disputes over immigration policy.
What the Right Is Saying
Some Senate Republicans floated a proposal, which was backed by President Trump, that would reopen the Department of Homeland Security by funding almost all of the department while setting aside ICE's emergency removal operations to fund through a budget reconciliation process. The president has suggested GOP senators stay in town until they pass a DHS funding bill and an election security bill. Republicans have argued that the Democratic demands for ICE reforms are unreasonable and have repeatedly blocked previous offers to compromise on immigration enforcement measures.
What the Numbers Show
The partial government shutdown has now lasted 39 days, affecting tens of thousands of federal workers including TSA officers. The Department of Homeland Security employs approximately 240,000 personnel, many of whom have worked without pay during the shutdown. The administration has deployed ICE officers to airports around the country to manage long TSA lines stemming from staffing shortages and high call-out rates during the shutdown. Lawmakers are scheduled to return to their districts for a two-week recess for Easter and Passover by the end of this week.
The Bottom Line
The pressure is mounting on Congress to reach a deal before the Easter recess. Everett Kelley and AFGE are demanding that lawmakers see concrete legislative text before declaring victory, noting that workers cannot survive on optimism. The deployment of ICE officers to airports has drawn criticism from the union as a stopgap measure that does not address the fundamental issue of paying TSA officers. What happens next: If no deal is reached by Friday, lawmakers will face pressure from constituents during the Easter recess, and thousands of federal workers will continue without pay through the holiday period.