I renewed my license online the last time, which was less than a year ago. I’m not sure if it had expired. Was it the fact that yours had expired that caused the wait?
I actually had a letter that stated I could renew online but it didn’t work. My wife got a letter stating she wasn’t eligible to renew online. There was a statement on a TV that just stated we would get a 60 day temporary license while the TSA checked our information.