The U.S. Senate voted Thursday, July 30, to advance the nomination of David Cummins, a former senior vice president at government contractor Serco, to become the next head of the Transportation Security Administration. A final confirmation vote is expected next week. Cummins would oversee an agency of roughly 60,000 employees responsible for security at more than 440 U.S. airports.
The vote comes as the Trump administration pushes to expand private airport screening under the TSA’s long-running Screening Partnership Program. Charleston, South Carolina’s airport announced last week it will move to privatized screening, joining Tampa and Des Moines, Iowa, as the third airport to opt into the program’s newer “Gold+” track this year.
At his confirmation hearing, Cummins pushed back on criticism that the privatization push is anti-worker, arguing that Screening Partnership Program airports kept paying their contract screeners through recent government shutdowns when many federal TSA officers went without pay. The administration has also proposed cutting more than 9,400 TSA positions and about $1.5 billion, roughly 20%, from the agency’s annual budget.
For travelers, the near-term change is limited: airports in the Screening Partnership Program still follow the same federal security standards and use contract screeners overseen by the TSA, so checkpoint procedures at Tampa, Des Moines and, soon, Charleston should look the same as at any other U.S. airport.
Sources: U.S. News, Federal News Network
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