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Former Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf warned that a prolonged departmental shutdown has left unpaid workers “distracted” as terror threats rise, potentially putting national security at a greater risk.
“You don’t want them distracted,” he said Sunday on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
“It’s just human nature that you’re going to be worried about where that next paycheck is cut, how you’re paying the bills… And we need our men and women of DHS… focused on their job at hand, whether you’re in the airport or you’re a Coast Guard men or women on a national security cutter, or you’re doing immigration enforcement, and you’re vetting folks that come into the country, you want them focused on the mission at hand,” Wolf said.
Wolf’s comments come as the partial government shutdown drags into another week, leaving 100,000 DHS employees, including 50,000 TSA agents, working without pay.
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A TSA agent works at a security checkpoint as travelers wait in line at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, on Nov. 7, 2025. (Ronaldo Schemidt /AFP via Getty Images)
The funding lapse has already begun to strain airport operations, with travelers reporting long security lines at major hubs and officials warning the situation could worsen if the standoff continues.
At the same time, many experts fear the threat environment remains elevated, especially as conflict rages in the Middle East and recent terror-related incidents heighten concerns about potential attacks on U.S. soil.
Amid the growing strain, President Donald Trump said Sunday he would deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to airports to assist TSA officers.
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The Department of Homeland Security has experienced a funding lapse as Washington battles over a stalled spending agreement, leaving thousands of employees working without pay. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
“On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job despite the fact that the Radical Left Democrats, who are only focused on protecting hard line criminals who have entered our Country illegally, are endangering the USA by holding back the money that was long ago agreed to with signed and sealed contracts, and all,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Wolf told the security lapse comes at a particularly dangerous moment, with recent incidents highlighting the need for heightened vigilance.
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“We had four incidents over the past month, likely terrorism in many of those cases, targeting American people,” he said. “So we need… all of our officers at the Department of Homeland Security and employees totally focused on their job at hand.”
