Newly appointed Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, has a litany of directives to execute her agenda. Can she finally fix the broken TSA?
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Kristi Noem Confirmed As Secretary Of The Department Of Homeland Security
Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem has been confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. While a focus of her task is the southern border and “fixing the broken immigration system” she is also over the Transportation Security Administration, TSA. President Donald Trump’s cabinet choices have been mostly confirmed like Pete Hegseth for the Department of Defense, Gov. Kristi Noem for DHS, and Marco Rubio for Secretary of State. (Rep. Matt Goetz did not go before Senate confirmation hearings.) Noem was approved by a vote of 59-34 with bipartisan support.
While border security and illegal immigration will be a focus of the new Homeland Security secretary, Tom Homan will likely lead that charge. This is not a post about immigration but rather the other major department that falls under her purview, the TSA.
TSA Is Improved But Still Broken
In a deeply politically divided country, one thing both parties agree on is that the TSA is broken. It’s inefficient, it’s ineffective, and some of it feels easily solved. Over the last few years, the TSA has improved, but it’s still broken. Here’s just a few examples:
- The TSA routinely misses the vast majority of serious weapons at checkpoints often failing between 80-95% of the time
- The liquids ban
- Removal of shoes
- More invasive security than necessary
- Cash seizures
- Real ID
- Failure to implement regulatory reform from 2007 (73% compliant) and updates in 2021 (89% compliant)
Common Sense Approach
The theme of the new administration has been to implement a “common sense” approach to governmental reform. European nations ended their liquids ban (before temporarily extending them due to a technical issue.) Of the seizures that the TSA has made, the agency has not disclosed any seizures of explosives in shoes since the ban went into place in 2006 following a pair of foiled plans.
“Taking off our shoes at the airport has become the new normal for almost everyone traveling on a commercial flight. Exceptions to the rule: security pre-screened passengers with TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or CLEAR, the elderly (over 75), and children under the age of 12.” – ClickOrlando
Either the issue of shoe bombings is a concern or it’s not. The TSA Precheck background check is limited and except for those with criminal backgrounds, seems to be uniformly approved. The same goes for removing laptops from hand luggage, or liquids in a marked container over three ounces. These rules are incredibly easy to circumvent for nefarious purposes. Should they remain in-force at all?
A common sense approach would say that rather than make everyone take off their shoes, everyone remove their devices, throwing away sealed commercially sold water bottles, random tests are likely to expedite the majority of screenings but may be more likely to actually catch real issues simply because more attention is paid to those random inspections.
It’s not just about speed, it’s about efficacy. For Sec. Kristi Noem, Homeland Security should hold all its departments to a higher standard and the TSA should be a prime target. Historically, the TSA misses the vast majority of guns going through checkpoints. While those rates have improved the last few years, the best audit I could find on record found that 80% of guns were missed during internal audits. Extrapolating that means that of the 6,678 firearms apprehended last year at checkpoints (94% loaded) there were likely 26,712 that made it through – yet there were no reports of shooting incidents on aircraft in the US last year.
With wide acceptance of TSA Precheck applicants, and almost universal acceptance granting the option to opt out of the more invasive security measures, why not streamline all TSA checkpoints, and keep a smaller but more targeted staff with spot checks?
By 2020, the TSA has also seized some $2bn at various checkpoints but this is strictly not their job, in their purview, or on its face illegal. I covered in 2020 the illegal seizure of $191,000 a business owner was taking from Tampa to Cleveland to buy trucks. It’s not illegal to travel with any amount of cash domestically in the United States. Civil forfeiture remains an issue, but this is a place where Noem has an opportunity to do the right thing and follow the law as an organization.
And if the Department of Government Efficiency wants to shore up some cash for the American people, it could start at the TSA’s nearly 63,000 employees which seems like overkill every time I pass through a gateway with 3-4 standing around regardless of the airport.
Conclusion
Noem could do two simple things to improve the department and benefit all US travelers.
First, require some accountability. If anyone in the private sector failed at their core job 80-95% of the time, they wouldn’t not have one. When the stakes are this high and performance has been subpar for this long, the time for excuses is over. Second, take a fresh look at the process. This is security theater at best, and in a time of radical change there’s an opportunity to make lasting change.
Secretary Noem has made it clear that her top priority is to “secure our southern border” but when the senate confirmed Kristi Noem, it confirmed her for the whole department and the TSA is ripe for reform and an important part of her duty.
What do you think?
I am always cooperative with TSA , and tell them “Thank You” before , during , and after the checks .
If a fellow traveler complains about TSA , I suggest that we would benefit from training by Israel .
@Kyle … This article fails to mention the TSA’s many successes . For example , discovering intoxicated pilots .
An article which fails to mention the TSA’s many successes , is an unbalanced editorial which diminishes the debt we owe the TSA for their successful accomplishments . Fair play ought to be the watchword .
Israel probably spends a lot of money on labor costs. The last time I was in Israel, I was deemed a security risk because the screener thought my visit of 3 days was too short for a genuine vacation. They then spent a lot of time going through my carry on luggage and my pockets.
The TSA doesn’t have that kind of money. Are you willing to pay more?
Good on Israel .
ROTFL, there was never a time when the TSA was ‘fixed’ or worked like a credible organisation. It was a Bush invention as a result of what you call 9/11. Criminal Trump won’t do anything about it because it’s only used by Little People who don’t matter. His mates, people like Nazi Musk (at least until they have their first falling out) and others are exempt. Get used to it.
The best thing to do is to stay away from the country on this side of the pond, we now call South Canada.
Lol. Can you tell is where Orange Godzilla touched you?
Agree about the burdensome security procedures like shoes, electrical items, liquids, IDs, etc. It is a legitimate question as to whether or not we need some or all of these tiresome protocols that are stuck in the immediate post 9/11 era (roughly 2001-2011ish). The vast majority of the world does not require all shoes to come off (with exceptions for boots or footwear with metal). Though an end to the liquids rule in the Western world will not be around for some years to come, as more countries like the UK, EU, Canada, Australia, NZ, ME, HK, etc. invest in technology to loosen the requirements, could that leave the United States behind in the game? Same goes for electrical items to be removed. Many airports, especially in Europe, include e-gates to scan boarding cards before security screening. Why not use that technology here?
A lot of restrictions probably made sense 18 to 20 odd years back when there was still huge uncertainty around aviation security and the safety of passengers from endless threats of terrorism that were mushrooming in various parts of the world. Although terrorism remains a threat, we also have new challenges like cyber crime and geopolitical conflicts in Europe, the ME, and potentially in the Indo-Pacific at some point that would pose an even bigger threat to air travel (the plane crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines flight is one example of this). In addition, as referred in the article, an overwhelming majority of travelers do not pose any security threat (I’d estimate it to be around >95%). It’s better to narrow the focus down to the small but dangerous minority, while rewarding the majority with convenience. That will be a win-win for everyone, as it would lower costs in a common sense manner.
A criminal elected as president, absence of health care, TSA not fit for purpose, airport security decades behind the curve, police shooting people in the back, gun crime among the worst in the world. Had you not yet realised that the US is a third world country?
Yeah, sure.
So weird that millions of people risk death so they can get here.
C,min Boris,stop trolling,nobody is insulting Putin here or that gulag named Russia where the minimum wage is less than in Guatemala.
…speaking of e-gates, CBP should consider them too.
Many other countries have e-gates at their passport control areas, and the US is stuck in the past on this.
True. Though they occasionally have software bugs, I’ve had nice experiences. In LHR, they’re a big hit!
I expect for this Administration to fix absolutely nothing, including not fixing the TSA. Unless you’re a white billionaire, this Administration is going to make things worse for you, including how the TSA functions.
Come now, they’ve achieved getting Kirsty Noem out of South Dakota, which I’m sure must a big relief to almost everyone in the state.
Paying $189 for CLEAR doesn’t give you any preference while passing through TSA checkpoints. People with CLEAR who do not have PreCheck still remove shoes, laptops, and 311 bags of liquids just like everyone else. They just have a different ID verification process.
James Harper n Bill you need to get over the anger and hatred and you TDS!
I’m not angry, just laughing at your third world country with a criminal as president. Waken up and realise where you are, a banana republic.
Sadly for them, it’s all they really have.
LOL, the only TDS is that of Trump supporters who think that Trump cares about anything but keeping himself out of jail 😀
Enjoy paying more for your Medicare drugs and your record inflation!
The only thing I believe Prissy Noom will do is allow open carry on flights. So you can shoot your family pet if they act like an animal. I truly believe that will be her focus.
A nation that puts a convicted felon into office, and who picks similar shady characters I wouldn’t wan to sit next to on a subway is not a serious country. And as a result, you will get nothing but non-serious behavior from those put into positions of power.
This administration is going to absolutely nothing but stir up chaos, cut taxes for the super rich, run up the national debt, and let the oligarchs of silicon valley do as they wish with AI.
Main problem with TSA is that most of their agents are disrespectful to passengers. They trate passengers like crap and forget to do their job. You need to first dix their agent’s attitude to than change the rules.
My local Sam’s club seems like they have better security with their cart scanners at the exit.
How could the TSA experience be worse?
Answer: No.
We already had 4 years of trump and nothing changed with TSA. Why you think this term will be any different is beyond me
The real “Trump derangement syndrome” comes from MAGA, not everyone else.
I think I can guess her policy on service dogs…
First: “The TSA routinely misses the vast majority of serious weapons at checkpoints often failing between 80-95% of the time” ….. Flat out lie. Your link goes to an article about the shoe bomber.
Second: “Cash seizures” …. You got this one right. But that’s about all you got right in this hack piece on TSA.
If you don’t like the TSA then don’t fly. Just like having a driver’s license is a privilege, so is flying.
@Dave Spencer – A few notes. The last time the TSA publicly reported the results of their audits was 2017. To suggest they have massively improved efficacy without scrutiny or transparency defies logic. Show the numbers, prove me (and every other writer on the subject) wrong. I welcome it. I will sing the praises of their improvement if that’s the case – who doesn’t want safer flying?
But the notion that having a driver’s license and flying are both privileges is a fallacy. We are all taxpayers funding the TSA and we are all entrusting the our safety to them, not just in the air but on the ground too. To suggest that we either accept the bloated, failed state of TSA or don’t fly is the deepest level of capitulation to government failure. I don’t accept that and neither should any of us. You know what else is a privilege? Having a job in the TSA, and if you fail – forget 80-95% of the time for a moment – 20% of the time when the stakes are literally life and death, you shouldn’t be in your job.