Would privatizing TSA be a mistake or relief from current airport problems? Officials weigh in

(D.C. Bureau) — Recent record wait times at airports across the country amid the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown are reigniting calls from Washington to privatize the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Ha Nguyen McNeill, the acting administrator of TSA, made the case before Congress this week, arguing workers and travelers deserve reliability.

“Until recently, TSA employees had missed nearly one billion in paychecks this fiscal year,” she said during a hearing. “In contrast, SPP screeners have not yet missed a paycheck.”

SPP screeners are private contractors now used at nearly two dozen airports since 2004. San Francisco’s International Airport and Greater Rochester International Airport in Upstate New York are examples.

The president’s fiscal 2027 budget request asked lawmakers to expand the program, mandating roughly 250 small airports in rule. The transition, according to the White House, would save taxpayers more than $50 million.

That’s a 0.4 percent reduction in TSA’s overall more than $11 billion budget.

Some lawmakers appear open to the idea, though others are more skeptical.

Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) cautions the push would raise consumer costs at the expense of taxpayers, calling privatization “a scam.”

The American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing most TSA workers, argues privatization would undermine security, pointing to failures before 9/11. AFGE says that’s when workers were paid as low as $6 an hour and employee turnover exceeded over 100 percent a year at most large airports.

By law, SPP screeners must comply with all TSA security screening procedures and are under the administration’s oversight.