Privatize the TSA: 3 steps to better service and enhanced security

After two decades, it’s worth asking: Is TSA working as well and efficiently as it could? And if not, how should the agency operate today?

Chad Wolf is the former acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and previously served as assistant administrator, chief of staff and acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. He is executive vice president at the American First Policy Institute. 

Like many bureaucracies under anemic congressional oversight, TSA relies heavily on inefficient staffing and operational models. As the Trump administration ushers in a long-awaited championing of zero-based budgeting, privatizing most of the TSA’s labor pool – while retaining and empowering its intelligence, oversight and standards-creation roles – offers a path to taxpayer savings, better passenger experiences and continued security.