President Trump proposes privatizing TSA inspection services
President Donald Trump has proposed starting to privatize the Transportation Security Administration’s airport security services to save money.
President Donald Trump proposed Friday to begin privatizing the Transportation Security Administration’s airport security services in an effort to cut costs.
The White House’s budget proposal proposes a $52 million cut in funding to the federal agency created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and would require small airports to enroll in a program in which the TSA pays for private screeners.
TSA has approximately 50,000 federal employees responsible for screening at nearly every airport in the United States.
Airports currently using the privatization program have demonstrated savings compared to federal inspection services, according to budget documents released Friday.
Major U.S. airports have been hit by major disruptions in recent weeks, with TSA security guards going without pay since mid-February after funding for workers was cut off amid budget disputes. The standoff in Congress has caused more than 10% of TSA employees to miss work on consecutive days, causing chaos and long security lines at U.S. airports. The agency announced Monday that the absenteeism rate had dropped to 8.6% after guards were finally paid.
Privatization could help remove the TSA from funding battles in Congress.
Still, the cuts to the Airport Security Agency come at a critical time for air travel, with more than 500 TSA employees retiring in recent weeks and concerns about air safety rising amid a long-standing shortage of air traffic controllers. President Trump’s budget included money to hire more air traffic controllers.
President Trump has criticized the TSA. He fired its head, David Pekoske, on his first day in office and has never named a replacement. Last year, the White House announced that it was calling for a $247 million budget cut to the agency, saying the agency “continues to fail audits while enforcing intrusive screening measures that violate the privacy and dignity of Americans.”
These budget cuts represent a reduction in TSA staffing levels of approximately 3 to 4 percent, with half of the cuts to exit lane staff and the remaining 2 percent to transportation security personnel across 435 airports.
As air travel has increased in recent years, the Biden administration had expanded the size of the TSA, which has nearly 60,000 employees. TSA screened 904 million passengers in 2024, a record high and a 5% increase compared to 2023.
