Some Republicans Are Interested in Privatizing Security Screenings at Airports

Two Republican senators are going as far as to say the agency that handles security checks at airports should be abolished in favor of privatizing the process.

Tommy Tuberville

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Republicans in Congress are eyeing changes to the Transportation Security Administration, with some arguing that its security operations should be privatized.

Republican lawmakers see the agency as exactly the type of government spending they should try to scale back on. They argue that an overhaul, or even abolishing it altogether, is necessary, even if they emphasize that they believe airport security is crucial.

“Ninety-five percent of the time, they miss. TSA misses anything that could cause problems on airplanes,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a former football coach, told NOTUS. “Ninety-five percent of the time. Now [I would have gotten] fired if I lost 95% of my games. So either do it right, or let’s give it to somebody else. And again, we need security. We just need to do something different.”