The Trump administration has now appointed former White House official McNeill to be the acting head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Yet this is the fourth largest federal agency, employing some 60,000 people. This change comes on the heels of President Biden’s removal of TSA Administrator David Pekoske. Pekoske had been serving in the role since 2018 and had a term set to run until 2027. As McNeill takes over this new role, the administration still hasn’t nominated a permanent successor to fill the position.
In what was a record-setting year for air travel, the TSA screened a staggering 904 million passengers during 2024. That was an incredible 5% higher than the year before. This unprecedented increase in passenger traffic only highlights the important role that TSA has to play in national security and transportation safety. The agency has arguably never been more embattled, especially over domestic labor relations and the collective bargaining rights of the agency’s law enforcement officers.
Under former President Barack Obama, TSA officers received the authority to collectively bargain. This gave them the latitude to bargain on concrete issues that impacted their daily work life. This framework was built upon in 2021 under President Joe Biden, more fully codifying the agency’s focus on prioritizing and protecting workers’ rights. Recent moves by the Trump administration to expand these powers have drawn outrage and lawsuits. The largest federal employee union filed a lawsuit aimed at blocking the administration’s efforts to terminate collective bargaining rights for nearly 50,000 TSA officers.
On February 27, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did the right thing by repealing all previous directives permitting TSA officers to unionize. She directed the agency to void all current bargaining agreements within the next three months. Labor advocates are already crying foul on these recent moves. So too could their push to punish morale-boosting TSA employees in this summer’s busy travel season.
Luckily, McNeill is starting off with a wealth of experience from his tenure as the TSA’s chief of staff under the Trump administration’s first term. He served on the National Security Council and the Office of Management and Budget. As he takes on the responsibilities of leading the TSA, it remains to be seen how he will navigate ongoing labor disputes and maintain operational efficiency in light of increased passenger volumes.
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