https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-proposes-begin-privatizing-us-airport-security-operations-2026-04-03/President Donald Trump on Friday proposed to begin privatizing airport security operations handled by the Transportation Security Administration, in an effort to save money.The White House budget proposes cutting funding for the federal agency created after the September 11, 2001 attacks by $52 million and would require small airports to enroll in a program in which TSA pays for private screeners.TSA has about 50,000 federal employees who handle screening at nearly all U.S. airports.Budget documents released on Friday said airports currently using the privatization program have demonstrated savings compared to federal screening operations.In recent weeks, major U.S. airports suffered massive disruptions after TSA security officers went unpaid since mid-February after funding for the workers was halted in a budget dispute. The standoff in Congress led to daily absences of 10% or more of TSA workers and brought chaos and long security lines to U.S. airports. The agency said on Monday the absence rate fell to 8.6% after the security officers were finally paid.Privatization could help remove TSA from congressional funding fights.Still, cuts to the airport security agency would come at a critical time for air travel with rising concerns about air safety after more than 500 TSA officers quit in recent weeks and amid a longstanding shortage of air traffic controllers. Trump's budget included money to hire more controllers.Trump has been critical of the TSA. He fired its head, David Pekoske, on his first day in office and has never nominated a replacement. Last year, the White House said it wanted funding cut for the TSA by $247 million, saying the "TSA has consistently failed audits while implementing intrusive screening measures that violate Americans’ privacy and dignity".
That budget reduction represented about a 3-4% cut to the TSA staffing levels - with half for staff at exit lanes and the remaining cut of 2% of transportation security officers spread across 435 airports.The Biden administration had increased the size of the TSA, which has nearly 60,000 employees, as air travel has increased in recent years. The TSA screened 904 million passengers in 2024, which was a record high and a 5% increase over 2023.
>>1503292>Turn more of the government over to mercenaries
Why do we even need the TSA? Wasn't it created to protect us against crazy islamists? When was the last time we pissed a bunch of them off?
>>1503292Purpose something better. Trump is the worst president with the worst ideas…
>>1503356Best president I've ever lived under with 90% good ideas.I'm not happy about Iran and some other minutia, but jeez, looking back, how did we even survive Nixon, Carter, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama?Man, we are (were) a resilient people.
>>1503363What is your metric for a good president? What positive change has he caused?
>>1503369Stop taking his larp seriously.
>>1503374I can poke retards if I want to.
>>1503369My metric was all these other fuckers. Look at these fucking jackasses.I left Reagan out because he ended decades of economic bullshit, but fuck him too.>Positive changeWhy go into specifics? You were complaining his first term about everything and wanted Biden to win. Look at what that fucker did.You're opinion is like piss.
>>1503403but you love being pissed on, you show up every day for more
>>1503404Of your trolling? You're not even effective at it.Did you think you were? The only part that even comes close to bugging me is how absolutely useless you are. Get a fucking life. There's nothing positive about posting 1 liners.Not funnyNot enragingNo point in doing what you doYou're a loonSeek meds and ingest.
>>1503407tl;dr pissbreath
>>1503403No you stupid fucking faggot, you don't know what I was doing his first term and are necessarily arguing against a strawman when you tell me what my opinion is. Fuck you for deliberately derailing the discussion you honorless fucking coward.You can't go into specifics because you're a witless dipshit who can't justify you beliefs.
>>1503430Fine tell me your thoughts on his first term.Upsides, downsides, comparisons to other presidents, etc.
>>1503433>No reply>Anon is correctI'm catching on to the way you shit-ass commies argue BTW.
>>1503436you need to catch on to a real job
>>1503440Wipe yo ass commie.
>>1503444weird projection but ok
Privatization is a scam. Replacing an entity that operates at cost with one that requires it to make profit either means it’s more expensive for the same level of service or you cut down the staffing which would mean longer lines at security. And you know the contracts are going to be no-bid to some shady politically connected company that was just formed a week before.
>>1503292So, when we go through Customs now, how much are we expected to tip them?
>>1503481No it doesn't.Generally better service, more accountability.Cost may be a factor, however. The government can control the pricing and may be able to deliver the service at a less expensive rate depending on the specialization of the service. The question is, "Will they?". Or will we have an Meicare/Medicaid/ACA-like situation where lobbyists from insurance companies set the pricing?
>>1503509Well, I'll be tipping based on the amount time spent fondling my genitals.
The US government should not be subsidizing the airlines. We shouldn't be paying taxes to keep them or their BS rewards programs going. We shouldn't be paying for the TSA. It's literally poor people subsidizing the rich's international travel.Let the airlines fail for once. Let banks fail for once. Let Walstreet declare bankruptcy. Or watch it all happen at the same time.
>>1503517>Generally better service, more accountability. LolLmaoThey don't need to have accountability because it's a private company, they can do whatever they want. It's the government that has obligatory accountability and transparency
I bet now you're going to need an app and a subscription and to use your social security number and a credit card and they will hire teenagers with less than a high school education and pay them nothing All while the heads of the security companies are making billions and the same chums of the other Epstein billionaires.Yes that was a huge run-on sentence but you know exactly what they're going to do. It's all so tiring.
>>1503522My brother in Christ, the TSA doesn't exist to protect the airlines. The airlines are fucking insured. It exists to protect national security.They aren't security at a club. They're there to keep someone from dropping a missile the size of a large building on the CIA.
>>1503528This is probably what's going to happen. We'll start needing an ID to travel, and it will be traveling anywhere. At the same time they'll demand what are effectively bribes to speed the process along (join the Epstein+ TSA line to get fast-tracked through!!! give face, name, DOB, SSN, and location of your children to sign up!!!)I say that and I think they already have pre-screening which is effectively that. It's right out of Papers Please
>>1503292Okay. I know I'm going to get about five replies calling me an esl shill, but what's wrong with this idea? Why not let each individual airport be responsible for their own security, with staff hired by them?
>>1503567Nothing so long as regulatory standards are kept, which is more difficult when dealing with private companies. The secondary problem is that these services being public utilities are virtual necessities and if they begin to fail the government has to bail them out
>>1503577Couldn't we set it up where the state is liable for any incidents? For example, some retard brings a knife on the plane and stabs somebody over an argument about a seat, for a flight from LAX to NYC. Los Angeles and the state of California would then be on the hook for failing to do their job.
>>1503585Yeah you could but the point of all the security is to prevent incidents from occurring at all
>>1503292Dumbass should have done this first, then do a false flag on Irans behalf, and then he could have declared war with most of the nation backing him. Trump looks like an amateur compared to Bush.
>>1503292If you think about it, TSA agents becoming bribable is really just establishing fees for taking illegal items on planes
>>1503567The TSA is a federal agency that was created by the DHS after 9/11. They work closely with security agencies to create normalized standards and practices to help keep air transit relatively safe.A privatized TSA means you will have different airports with different standards for airport security. This is happening on the cusp of the US killing the Ayatollah and the immediate threat posed by terrorist orgs in the United States.
>>1503656The government can and should impose standards across all airports. The problem with private companies is their motivated by profit whereas government bodies are motivated by upholding regulatory standards
>>1503567Because private businesses only care about making money. That's it. They don't care about helping people, they don't care about providing a good product or service, the ONLY THING they care about is making money. Nothing else.If providing a service makes them money, then sure, they'll do it. But if cutting corners, cheaping out, nickle and diming, and generally providing a worse service will make them MORE money? Then they'll do that instead every single time. You don't want airport security privatized because private security companies don't care about providing security, they care about making money.
>>1503658>their motivation is profit
>>1503655>They aren't already bribable!!WTF? Government agencies must be fucking sainted in your mind.
