Share and Follow
() Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., introduced the “Abolish TSA Act of 2025″ last week, which aims to eliminate the Transportation Security Administration altogether.
The bill would require Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “to expeditiously eliminate or transfer all authorities, enforcement functions, and programs of the Administration.”
The bill outlines that, with TSA gone, all commercial airport security should be privatized to “increase cost-efficiency and security.”
The legislation would also mandate the formation of an Office of Aviation Security Oversight in the Federal Aviation Administration.
What is TSA?
Founded in 2001 by President George W. Bush following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, TSA is the DHS branch in charge of protecting the nation’s transportation.
“TSA’s scope includes commercial and general aviation; mass transit systems; freight and passenger rail; highways, pipelines and ports,” according to its official website.
The agency said its 65,000 employees screened 904 million passengers and 494 million checked bags in 2024, a 5.3% increase from 2023.
It is most commonly recognized for its rigorous airport measures including taking your shoes off and condensing your liquids into one quart-sized bag.
Why are Republicans trying to abolish TSA?
Despite its Republican founding, most support for abolishing TSA comes from the GOP, who claim the agency oversteps and underperforms.
“The TSA has not only intruded into the privacy and personal space of most Americans, it has also repeatedly failed tests to find weapons and explosives,” Lee said in a news release.
A 2017 undercover test found that TSA screeners failed to find and confiscate test weapons more than half the time, though a specific percentage was not confirmed. A similar 2015 investigation showed TSA agents failing to detect 95% of test items.
In 2024, TSA’s budget was $10.4 billion.
-
FILE – A sign warns travelers not to bring guns through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Fla, on April 23, 2022. The TSA said Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, it is raising the fine for people caught with a gun in their carry-on bag to a maximum fine to $14,950 after intercepting a record number of firearms at security checkpoints this year. Previously it was $13,910..(AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File) -
A TSA agent assists an airline passenger at a security checkpoint in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. -
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) worker screens luggage at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) on September 26, 2017 in New York City. Passengers traveling on Delta at Terminal C will now go through new automated security screening lanes that hat officials claim will improve security while reducing wait times by 30 percent. The new automated security lanes, which have recently launched at some terminals at neighboring John F. Kennedy Airport, feature four partitioned areas for passengers to load their belongings, as well as a second rotating belt for bins. These bins, which are 25 percent larger, are automatically sent back to the front of the line after each use, freeing up TSA officers to focus on the screening travelers. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Another contentious piece of airport tech is TSA’s recently-introduced face scan technology, which bipartisan senators called “out of control” in a November 2024 letter to the TSA Inspector General.
“This technology will soon be in use at hundreds of major and mid-size airports without an independent evaluation of the technology’s precision or audit of whether there are sufficient safeguards in place to protect passenger privacy,” the letter stated.
Notably, facial recognition is optional. TSA told that the technology is the most secure form of identity verification and that they do not retain any personal data from passengers.
If the bill is made into law and airport security is privatized, Lee predicts: “American families can travel safely without feeling the hands of an army of federal employees.”
Democrats respond to TSA elimination bill
Several Democrats have ridiculed Lee and Tuberville’s bill on social media, pointing out potential safety pitfalls that come with eliminating TSA.
Lee asked in a post on X, “Who supports my bill to abolish TSA?”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., responded: “Bin Laden,” referencing al Qaeda founder and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., responded, “The Ayatollah, probably,” referencing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Air travel safety concerns grow
The call to end TSA comes amid a turbulent time for the aviation industry, which has been racked with disasters and close calls for months.
Recent disasters include a deadly midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines aircraft near Washington, D.C. and a medical transport jet crash in Philadelphia which both happened in January.
This month, an overweight Alaska flight crashed into sea ice, killing 10 people. A Delta flight from Minneapolis to Toronto crashed and flipped over while landing, injuring 18, in February.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating these recent crashes and close calls to determine what caused them and look for ways to prevent recurrences.
‘s Xavier Walton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
