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TSA closes terminal at Bush Intercontinental Airport over government shutdown

By Shelby Lin Erdman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

A TSA worker sends a traveler's belongings through an x-ray machine at a security checkpoint. As the partial government shutdown moves into its 25th day, more TSA workers are calling out because they're not getting paid.

By Shelby Lin Erdman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

The Transportation Security Administration has closed down a terminal at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston as the government shutdown moves into its 25th day with no end in sight and no paychecks for 800,000 government workers, including TSA agents.

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The move follows a similar one at Miami International Airport over the weekend.

Houston Airports released a statement on the closure that said in part:

"Due to staffing issues associated with the partial shutdown of the federal government, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoint and the ticketing counter in Terminal B at George Bush Intercontinental Airport closed at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019, and will remain closed the rest of the day.”

Airport officials and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner are urging passengers to arrive early for flights after the terminal closure, as more travelers will be trying to get through fewer security checkpoints.

>> Related: Government shutdown: Trump says he won't declare national emergency yet

The government partially closed down on Dec. 22, 2018, when President Donald Trump refused to sign a spending bill that did not include $5 billion for a border wall with Mexico, one of his campaign promises, and House Democrats refused to agree to a bill that included money for a border wall, saying border security was a separate issue.

Cox Media Group

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