TSA calls for backup help at airports facing callouts during shutdown: CNN

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Tuesday asked its workforce for backup help at airports experiencing low staffing because of the government shutdown, according to CNN.

An executive with TSA sent an email to TSA officials in more than 10 states and from more than 100 airports asking workers to move from their usual airports to other airports with staffing issues, according to CNN. 

According to the email, a similar request for backup was made last week and resulted in 160 officers volunteering to switch airports, CNN reported.

{mosads}TSA also noted in the email that it has already dispatched all of the members of its national deployment team, a group of TSA officers that can be sent to airports across the U.S. to combat staffing shortages. That group has been used to shore up TSA staffing at airports in Atlanta, Chicago and New York City, CNN reported.

TSA did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.

TSA’s latest call for backup help comes after the agency said in a statement Monday that unscheduled absences among workers rose to 10 percent on Sunday.

“Many employees are reporting that they are not able to report to work due to financial limitations,” TSA said in the statement.

Another 7.5 percent of TSA workers called out on Monday, according to CNN.

TSA is currently not funded because of the partial government shutdown, which has been in effect since Dec. 22. The agency’s workers are still required to work, but they are not getting paid. 

The shutdown was sparked because of President Trump’s demand for funding for a wall along the southern border — funding the Democrats have refused to approve.

The Senate plans to vote Thursday on two proposals to reopen the government.