The Transportation Security Administration said on Sunday that its PreCheck airport screening lanes are operational, an about-face hours after the Department of Homeland Security said the faster security checkpoints were paused amid the partial government shutdown.

Travel industry leaders said they received little, if any, warning of the changes to PreCheck, a program that allows its 20 million pre-screened members to pass through airport security faster than at standard lanes. Industry members spoke with DHS officials in the past few hours and expressed alarm about the sudden decision, people familiar with the matter said.

“At this time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public,” TSA officials said in a statement. “As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly. Courtesy escorts, such as those for Members of Congress, have been suspended to allow officers to focus on the mission of securing America’s skies.”

The agency said that “until funding is restored, all travelers should expect a process that does not sacrifice security. ”

DHS early Sunday said that PreCheck and Global Entry and other program suspensions were scheduled to take effect at 6 a.m. ET on Sunday. As of 12:40 p.m. ET, its updated statement still included a suspension of Global Entry but it had removed its mention of PreCheck.

“We are glad that DHS has decided to keep PreCheck operational and avoid a crisis of its own making,” Geoff Freeman, chief executive of U.S. Travel, an industry group whose members include major airlines, hotel chains like Hyatt and Marriott International and tourism boards around the country.

The move comes as a partial U.S. government shutdown that has left thousands of DHS workers, including TSA airport screeners, working without pay since it started on Feb. 14.

“TSA and CBP are prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry and suspending courtesy and special privilege escorts,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.

Noem blamed Democrats for the shutdown. Democrats and Republicans remain at an impasse over immigration policy.

“Shutdowns have real world consequences, not just for the men and women of DHS and their families who go without a paycheck, but it endangers our national security,” she said. “The American people depend on this department every day, and we are making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions to mitigate the damage inflicted by these politicians.” 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), pushed back, saying the Trump administration is “choosing to inflict pain on the public instead of adopting common sense” reforms of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

DHS did not say whether it expected to reverse its suspension of Global Entry or what prompted the change. The White House referred an inquiry from CNBC to DHS.

Travel industry experts sharply criticized the move before it was reversed, which comes just months after last year’s record federal government shutdown cost airlines millions of dollars and hurt bookings, according to executives.

The sector’s leaders have consistently complained about how air travel has ended up at the center of repeated shutdowns and have pushed lawmakers to ensure that essential government workers are paid during funding lapses.

A government shutdown in 2019 ended shortly after a shortfall of air traffic controllers disrupted flights. Air traffic controller shortages, already problematic, also spiked during the 2025 government closure, snarling air travel shortly before it ended in November.

The government shutdown in the fall, the longest ever, cost the travel industry and other sectors $6.1 billion, the group said. Those disruptions affected about 6 million travelers.

“A4A is deeply concerned that TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs are being suspended and that the traveling public will be, once again, used as a political football amid another government shutdown,” said Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu. The group represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and other major carriers.

“The announcement was issued with extremely short notice to travelers, giving them little time to plan accordingly, which is especially troubling at this time of record air travel,” he added.

Another T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, considered to be the “Holy Grail” of the collectible space, was recently discovered and has been sold at auction for $5.124 million.

The sale was conducted via Goldin Auctions, and it included the buyer’s premium. It’s now the third-most expensive T206 Wagner card ever after a $6.606 million copy was sold in August 2021 and another for $7.25 million in August 2022. 

This recently discovered copy had been in the family of Douglas and Dennis Shields for 116 yards. Their grandfather, Morton Bernstein, the son of The National Silver Company founder, Samuel E. Bernstein, collected trading cards, and more importantly, preserved them since the early 1900s. 

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A rare baseball card of Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, considered to be the best all-around player in history, is displayed on June 3, 2005, at Sotheby’s in New York. (Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images)

“We are honored that the Shields family chose us to represent this historic card that has been in their family for 116 years,” Ken Goldin, CEO and founder of Goldin Auctions said in a statement, via ESPN. 

This recently discovered copy was graded as a 1 by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), while the other two received grades of 3 and 2 respectively from Sportscard Guaranty Corporation (SGC) when they came about.  

LOGAN PAUL SELLS PIKACHU ILLUSTRATOR TRADING CARD FOR MORE THAN $16.4M

Morton Bernstein ended up purchasing F.B. Rogers Silver Company in 1955, and he made it a point to display his preserved cards in frames throughout his business. Ultimately, The National Silver Company went out of business, and the cards were placed in a warehouse. 

As Douglas and Dennis came forward, the T206 Wagner card was featured on Netflix’s “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch,” where Goldin revealed it on a Season 3 episode in December. 

The famous T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, is shown June 6, 2000, in New York City. (Chris Hondros/Newsmakers / Getty Images)

While this is a massive payout for yet another Wagner card, another T206 remains on the market. With six days left on Heritage Auction, an SGC Authentic, which is considered a grade below a 1, is at $2.318 million right now. 

So, what exactly makes this card worth millions today? Scarcity in the collectibles industry is a major key, and since Wagner asked the American Tobacco Company to stop making his card in 1909, there is certainly that factor here. 

The 1909 baseball card of Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Honus Wagner is displayed for a photograph in New York, on Feb. 19, 2013. (Scott Eells/Bloomberg / Getty Images)

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That was the same year Wagner won the World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who he won eight batting titles with. Nicknamed “The Flying Dutchman,” Wagner is one of the most recognized baseball players of all time, being amongst the original Hall of Fame inductees when the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, was founded. 

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