This information was included in a budget document for the Department of Homeland Security, which supervises TSA, and is part of the White House’s budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year.
Later this month, Congress will conduct hearings regarding the White House budget request, as lawmakers aim to finalize a new budget agreement before the fiscal year concludes on September 30. Some Republican lawmakers are advocating for the complete privatization of TSA.
These budget specifics are not related to the funding stalemate in Congress regarding DHS for the current fiscal year, which has led to airport delays as TSA workers have gone unpaid.
On Friday, President Donald Trump suggested mandating that smaller airports employ private security instead of TSA as an initial move toward privatizing the agency established after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The White House indicated this change could reduce the TSA payroll by over 4,500 positions. The TSA also plans to eliminate another 4,800 jobs by enhancing efficiency, ceasing staffing at exit lanes, and removing redundancies.
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The proposed employee reductions are expected to save more than $500 million.
The union representing TSA security officers, the American Federation of Government Employees, opposes privatization, arguing it would compromise air travel safety.
The proposal aims to decrease the agency’s $7.8 billion budget by approximately 20% and follows TSA’s loss of over 1,600 workers during government funding interruptions last fall and this spring. Currently, around 50,000 security screeners at U.S. airports are TSA employees.
Trump has been critical of TSA, having dismissed its head, David Pekoske, on his first day in office in 2025, and he has yet to nominate a replacement.
Last year, the White House remarked, “TSA has consistently failed audits while implementing intrusive screening measures that violate Americans’ privacy and dignity.”
The Biden administration increased TSA’s size, with the agency screening 904 million passengers in 2024, marking a record high and a 5% increase over 2023.
Recent security issues at airports have created operational difficulties for airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, among others.
(Edited by : Juviraj Anchil)
