White House budget would cut thousands of TSA jobs: What to know

President Trump’s 2027 budget proposal would cut thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) jobs in a push toward privatizing the agency founded in 2001 that is housed under the Department of Homeland Security. 

Conservatives have long sought to outsource airport security, arguing that shifting screening to contractors would cut costs and improve operational efficiency. Critics — including labor groups and some Democrats — say private companies would prioritize profit over security, risking passengers’ safety and leading to significant job losses.

The debate has taken on renewed urgency in recent weeks, after Congress failed to pass funding for DHS, leaving TSA officers working without pay for weeks and straining airport operations nationwide. More than 500 officers resigned during the lapse, and thousands more skipped shifts each day, contributing to long security lines and flight delays.

The administration is now proposing to expand the use of private screening through its latest budget request, touting the existing contractor-run program at nearly two dozen small airports around the country as a more flexible and cost-effective model that would shift screening away from a federal workforce.

The White House requested a TSA budget of $11.7 billion for Fiscal Year 2027, including 53,199 positions and 50,398 full-time equivalents (FTEs), according to a DHS congressional justification report on the TSA budget request.

That represents a reduction of 8,385 positions and 9,439 FTEs from the Fiscal Year 2026 annualized continuing resolution. 

Among the thousands of jobs proposed to be cut are 2,462 Transportation Security Officer (TSO) positions and 4,351 TSO FTEs. Under a section of the budget called “workforce reshaping,” another 1,347 positions and 511 FTEs would be cut.

At the same time, the administration is proposing a significant expansion of privatized screening at specialized and smaller airports.

Funding for the Screening Partnership Program (SPP), which allows private contractors to conduct screenings, would increase by $477.3 million — a move offset by a $529.3 million reduction in TSO personnel costs and benefits. 

“Despite these reductions, TSA will maintain all priority mission-critical positions to ensure operational effectiveness and mission continuity,” the congressional justification document reads.

Push for privatization

The proposal builds on renewed interest in privatizing airport security that intensified during the recent government shutdown, when TSA staffing shortages led to hours-long security lines and widespread flight delays. The disruptions underscored the system’s reliance on congressional action to keep federal workers paid.

Twenty airports across the country participate in SPP, which allows private contractors to conduct screenings under TSA oversight. Those airports largely avoided the kinds of disruptions seen elsewhere during the DHS shutdown, in part because their workers are paid through pre-funded federal contracts. 

While smaller airports generally experienced fewer challenges than the country’s largest air hubs, those 20 airports were uniquely insulated from the fallout, a contrast proponents point to in arguing the model is less exposed during funding lapses.

The idea has gained traction in conservative policy circles in recent years. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint called for privatizing TSA, estimating the government could save up to 20 percent by outsourcing screening operations.

The Trump administration has echoed that argument, pointing to existing SPP airports as evidence the model can reduce costs while maintaining security standards. The Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal says the shift “would yield cost savings compared to Federal screening and begin reform of a troubled Federal agency.”

“For more than 20 years, TSA’s Screening Partnership Program has allowed participating airports to contract screening services to qualified private companies. These companies operate under federal oversight, complying with all TSA security standards, while delivering an exceptional experience for travelers,” a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said in a statement to The Hill.

“Expanding this program has been proposed in several of President Trump’s budgets, and it has worked well in the airports where it is already operational,” the statement continued.

Union pushback to the effort 

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the union representing most TSA workers, has forcefully pushed back on the effort to privatize airport security, arguing the shift would make travelers less safe. 

“I would not personally want to fly if I knew the whole entire system was privatized because it’s just not safe for the American people,” Johnny Jones, AFGE TSA Council 100 secretary treasurer and AFGE Local 1040 president, said at a press conference earlier this month.

Jones characterized the push to privatize security as an effort to “put profit before people and security.”

“Because that’s all privatization is — bottom line is profit. P is for profit, not for people,” he continued. “It’s very important that people understand what privatization is. It has nothing to do with your security or your safety. It has everything to do with somebody making a profit.”

In response to the White House budget proposal, AFGE officials said they would fight against the effort.

“This is something we have expected, it is part of Project 2025. We take this threat very seriously and will be in the fight to ensure it doesn’t happen,” a spokesperson for AFGE told The Hill.

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