{"id":23,"date":"2026-05-25T18:08:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=23"},"modified":"2026-05-25T18:08:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:08:33","slug":"tsa-workforce-aviation-leaders-challenge-trump-push-to-expand-privatized-airport-screening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=23","title":{"rendered":"TSA workforce, aviation leaders challenge Trump push to expand privatized airport screening"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Updated May 21 at 5 p.m.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Industry and government employee representatives alike pushed back on President Trump\u2019s attempt to mandate the privatization of screening efforts at small airports on Wednesday, suggesting during congressional testimony the program should remain optional and could lead to worse outcomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The airline industry, the head of a major airport and the top official representing Transportation Security Administration employees all threw cold water on the president\u2019s plan, which the White House proposed earlier this year. Trump is looking to dramatically scale up the Screening Partnership Program to include hundreds of participants, compared to the current roster of just more than 20 airports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Former Gov. Chris Sununu, R-N.H., now the president of Airlines for America, said his members do not want to see airports have their choices taken away. The overwhelming majority of airports in the United States have since the Sept. 11 attacks used federal TSA screeners at their checkpoints, though the law creating the agency allowed them to opt in a partnership with the private sector.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEnsuring SPP remains an option for airports and does not become a mandatory program is paramount to the U.S. aviation industry,\u201d Sununu said, adding that while some of the airports that have elected to participate in the privatization program have done so successfully, \u201cairports need the flexibility to make their own choices.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chris McLaughlin, CEO of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, said TSA staff at his facility \u201cdo an amazing job\u201d and he is therefore uninterested in joining the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s important for airports to have choices,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cI think there might be places where an SPP model could work for specific airports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s privatization plan would lead to job cuts of around 4,500 TSA employees. He proposed eliminating another nearly 5,000 jobs by reallocating resources that the agency said will lead to more efficiency, as well as by tasking states and localities to staff exit lanes. The budget proposed an additional $477 million for SPP to get more airports to enroll, though the White House said it would ultimately save $52 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe budget begins the privatization of TSA\u2019s airport screeners by requiring small airports to enroll in the Screening Partnership Program, under which TSA pays for private screeners at designated airports,\u201d the White House said. \u201cThe airports that already use this program have demonstrated savings compared to federal screening operations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The president has also launched TSA Gold Plus, which would enable airports to leverage private sector investment in providing technology and staffing for screening while maintaining federal oversight. That differs from SPP, which uses federal dollars to contract with private screeners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The administration has pointed to the two extended government shutdowns in fiscal 2026 that have forced TSA employees to go months on only the promise of back pay to justify the privatization push, suggesting non-government personnel maintained their pay throughout the funding lapses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA workers, said the pre-9\/11 era demonstrated the pitfalls of privatized airport screening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe consequences of reverting to a contractor-driven model are not theoretical,\u201d Kelley said. \u201cWe lived them before September 2001 and the historical record is unambiguous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee that held Wednesday’s hearing said forced privatization would be a mistake that would lead to worse outcomes for both travelers and TSA personnel. Workers at private companies would earn less than most TSA staff, they said, while losing their collective bargaining rights\u2014a shift the administration is already seeking to implement at the agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAirports recognize the downsides of privatization over the last 25 years,\u201d said Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif. \u201cAirports have had the option to join SPP at any time, and only a small handful have done so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans, meanwhile, expressed an openness to the plan, noting Democratically controlled cities have either implemented SPP (San Francisco) or are considering doing so (Seattle and Atlanta).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI applaud the administration\u2019s establishment of a new TSA Modernization office, reporting directly to the TSA administrator,\u201d said Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., who chaired the hearing..\u201d This new office directly answers this committee\u2019s calls to modernize and reform the agency while increasing public-private partnerships in striving toward greater security outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the hearing, Garbarino clarified that\u00a0private-public partnerships should be just one part of TSA’s modernization, which should include new technology and streamlined screening for certain populations. He has supported bipartisan legislation to allow TSA to retain all of the fees it collects from travelers and to allow families with young children to receive expedited screenings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“When\u00a0it comes to optional programs like SPP, the most important thing stressed at this week\u2019s hearing is that this is one of many avenues available to airports as they determine what frameworks work best for their needs,” Garbarino said. “That was an important conversation to have across party lines, and I appreciated the testimony from all of our witnesses on how we can work together to protect the traveling public and our dedicated TSA workforce.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kelley suggested TSA employees should be applauded for their efforts while seeing their paychecks delayed, collective bargaining rights stripped and threats of thousands of job cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite all of this, they have continued to show up,\u201d Kelley said. \u201cThey have continued to screen nearly three million passengers a day. They have maintained their unblemished record of keeping the flying public safe from terrorist violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Appeals court upholds order reinstating VA\u2019s union contracts<\/a><\/p>\n

This story has been updated with additional comment<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The proposal would require hundreds of small airports to join the Screening Partnership Program and shift thousands of TSA jobs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management"],"yoast_head":"\nTSA workforce, aviation leaders challenge Trump push to expand privatized airport screening - Market Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=23\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TSA workforce, aviation leaders challenge Trump push to expand privatized airport screening - 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