The Transportation Security Act is Broken – Is Privatization Next?

KC Guidry usually arrives at the airport two hours before the flight to give herself enough time to get through security. But she knew that her flight on Monday morning, March 23, from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston would not be routine at all.

“I heard the lines were long via TikTok and through the news,” she said. “The other day, I saw that the wait time for the station I needed to leave from was 200 minutes. I saw that they didn’t do pre-screening or CLEAR, so I adjusted my schedule.”

She arrived at the airport at 12:30 a.m. to take off for a 7:20 a.m. flight and joined a security line that was already wrapping around Houston’s Terminal E. She was unable to cross until 4:30 am. Others will likely fare worse. By 9:30 a.m., the airport was already warning travelers that wait times could occur Approximately four hours. By the end of the day, they were average Closer to five – Some security lines extended along the road outside the station In the underground parking garage.

Airport chaos has become a hallmark of the Trump era. Travelers are already having to deal with the spike in oil prices, a Broken security systemand War in Iran. And for For the third time in six monthsTSA funding has ended due to a budget impasse. Nearly 50,000 transportation security officers (TSOs) who man the country’s airport security checkpoints have not received their salaries since late February.

like “Essential workers“, TTOs are required by law to report for work even if they don’t get paid. But not all of them do. Although It is illegal for TSA employees to stage an official strikethousands are calling patients independently. two weeks ago, Nearly 6 Percent of them did not show up for work, which is three times higher than the normal rate. This week is closer to 10 percent at the national level. And call prices I exceeded 33 percent at many of the nation’s largest airports, including New York’s JFK, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Despite the chaos, the Trump administration does not appear to be in a rush to end the budget impasse, despite a budget glitch. Recent CBS News/YouGov poll He showed broad disapproval of the shutdown in general, and of the way Republicans handled it. For weeks, President Trump himself has tied any agreement to restore TSA funding to passage of the TSA Act American Voter Eligibility Protection (SAVE) Act.which is the Democrats Willing to procrastinate. He even Refused to settle It was negotiated by members of his party that would reopen the department on Monday.

Instead, he ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to do so The country’s airports “To help our amazing TSA agents.” This seemed surprising Cabinet officialswhich was shown Ambiguous and contradictory explanations about ICE’s new role. On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could be spotted at airports doing a little more than that Standing around, Looks toughand sometimes helping people lift their bags into the scanners.

(ICE did not respond to our request for more details about its deployment.)

Like much of Trump’s agenda during his second term, his position on the shutdown does not make sense on its face. But the strategy becomes clear when examined through the lens of the Heritage Foundation Project 2025Which calls for the complete dismantling of the Transportation Security Administration.

“The Transportation Security Administration (should) be privatized,” the document says. “Until it is privatized, the TSA must be treated as a national security provider, and its workforce must be deunionized immediately.”

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem achieved the latest of these goals, stripping TSA workers of many of their collective bargaining rights. Last December. But she spent the rest of her term bragging about the strength of her department. I have personally attended ICE raids in New York, Minneapolisand Los Angeles In full hair and makeup. I used Coast Guard money for Purchase two private planes It authorized the TSA purchase Billion dollars worth of new security equipment. So she spent 220 million dollars In an ad campaign she starred in that was clearly intended to rebuke illegal immigrants crossing the border. This was not the behavior of someone prepared to hand over the responsibilities of DHS—and its massive budget—to the private sector.

Her successor, Markwayne Mullen, who was It was confirmed on March 24he doesn’t seem to share Noem’s penchant for the spotlight.

“My goal in six months is to not be in the main story every day.” he said at his confirmation hearing.

He did not say how he would run the TSA other than to generally call for better funding for the entire department. But we do know that he is a consistent supporter of the Heritage Foundation. During his last term in Congress, he voted in line with the think tank’s positions 90 percent of the time.

Clearly, proponents of privatizing the TSA sense an opportunity with Mullen in charge. Since his nomination was announced… Fox News, a reason magazineAnd the right one Competitive Enterprise Institute Published articles making the case for TSA privatization. Over the weekend, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ill.) promised to revive his “party.”Repeal the TSA law“, who died in commission last year.

Mullen may not have a better opportunity to do so now, as Trump appears willing to endure voter anger and public bewilderment in order to advance his agenda. TSA workers are quitting at a rate of approx 200 per week. And the public who suffered from airport collapses during two of… Busiest travel periods Of all time – Thanksgiving 2025 and Spring break 2026 – May be willing to accept radical change if it means going beyond security in a reasonable amount of time.

Privatization may seem more like the arrangement made at Kansas City International or Orlando Sanford. At these airports, employees of a third-party security company called VMD Corp staff the checkpoints but Still following TSA procedures. They were not affected by the government shutdown: “The professional teams at our SPP airports have less than 3-minute lines,” the company said Make fun of X During the weekend.

Or it might look like the chaos at Calgary International Airport in Canada. In 2024, a company called Paladin International took over the screening duties. since then, Security screens They have complained of constant staff shortages, poor working conditions, and even being denied bathroom breaks and access to water. Wait times in calgary Routinely exceeds 30 minutes, Much higher than Canada’s national average.

Privatization is not a magic bullet, but the status quo is also untenable. As long as the TSA remains useful as a political leverage, travelers should prepare for periodic disruptions with excruciatingly long wait times. And if President Trump continues to complain that “our airports are like a third-world country,” as he did during the 2016 debate, he need look no further than his administration to find someone to blame.