'This is insane.' Long lines plague U.S. airports as TSA officers face second missed paycheck in shutdown

NEW YORK — Andrew Leonard showed up at John F. Kennedy International Airport at 4:45 a.m. on Monday for his 7 a.m. flight to Seattle. Nearly two hours later, he made it through security and to his gate just in time for boarding. "I fly out of this terminal all the time and this is insane," said Leonard, a 34-year-old performing arts teacher in New York who was en route to Seattle ahead of a family vacation to Hawaii. He is one of tens of thousands of travelers around the U.S. who are facing extra long security wait times at major airport hubs like Atlanta, New York and Houston due to elevated absences of Transportation Security Administration officers. TSA workers are facing a second missed full paycheck this week as a partial government shutdown continues. The Trump administration will deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports on Monday to help ease security lines amid the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday. Read more about the shutdowns' impact on air travel TSA staff shortages lead to hourslong security lines for travelers at some airports Airlines warn flight cancellations will continue even after shutdown ends The government shutdown is over. The air traffic controller shortage is not ICE agents weren't visible at checkpoints at Kennedy Airport's Terminal 8 early Monday, and it wasn't clear where or when agents would be deployed. DHS and TSA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment early Monday. Homan told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that the ICE agents will be "helping TSA move those lines along," including by guarding exit doors to relieve TSA agents so they could screen travelers. "We're simply there to help TSA do their jobs in areas that don't need their specialized expertise." TSA's more than 50,000 officers have been working without their regular paychecks since the partial government shutdown began in mid-February. The shutdown comes as Democrats demand changes ...