White House Budget Proposes Cutting 9,400 TSA Jobs, Slashing $1.5 Billion

The White House budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 would eliminate roughly 9,400 full-time equivalent positions at the Transportation Security Administration and cut more than $1.5 billion from the agency, according to Department of Homeland Security budget documents that drew immediate alarm from aviation security unions.

The proposal would strip more than 9,400 workers and just over $1.5 billion from the 60,000-employee Transportation Security Administration that handles airport security operations. That math translates to a roughly 16% reduction in the agency's total workforce. The details were part of a budget document for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA, included in the White House's budget proposal for the next fiscal year. More specifically, the request would represent reductions of almost 8,400 positions and about 9,400 full-time equivalents, including 2,462 Transportation Security Officer posts and 4,351 TSO full-time equivalents, the frontline screeners who conduct passenger checks and baggage searches at airport checkpoints.

To offset the workforce reductions, the White House's proposed budget suggests privatizing security operations at smaller airports. The proposal would require airports to sign up for TSA's Screening Partnership Program, which facilitates contracting private firms for security screening services. About 20 airports already using the program "have demonstrated savings compared to Federal screening operations," the budget document says, and "the move would yield cost savings compared to Federal screening and begin reform of a troubled Federal agency." The expansion is projected to save $52 million, while the broader restructuring is estimated to cut more than $500 million from TSA's total outlay.

Johnny Jones, secretary treasurer for AFGE TSA Council 100, challenged that framing directly. "It's very important that people understand what privatization is," Jones said. "It has nothing to do with your security or your safety. It has everything to do with somebody making a profit." The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents about 47,000 TSA officers, has long feared the Trump administration would try to privatize the workforce.

Union officials pointed to recent disruptions as evidence the agency's staffing is already under serious strain. The issue gained traction in recent weeks as many airports across the country saw long lines at checkpoints due to the ongoing partial government shutdown that left TSA employees without paychecks. Slashing the agency's budget could cut it off from even more resources when more than 400 employees have quit since the beginning of the year.

The FY2027 budget is not entirely a ledger of cuts. The proposal also requests $225.9 million for procuring and deploying Computed Tomography machines to enhance security screening capabilities, which the administration cited as evidence that automation and risk-based technology could compensate for a leaner federal workforce.

Congress will hold hearings on the White House budget request later this month as lawmakers aim to reach a new budget deal before the fiscal year ends on September 30. No staffing changes can take effect without legislative action, and members of both parties representing states with major airports are expected to scrutinize the proposed reductions at appropriations and homeland security oversight hearings. Union leaders also noted that prior to the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, all airport security in the United States was operated by private companies, a history they argued undercuts the administration's case for returning to a contractor-driven model.