Senate confirms Serco executive to lead TSA amid push for private airport screening

On Friday, the U.S. Senate confirmed David Cummins, a senior vice president at Serco, to become the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, approving the nomination by a 51-47 margin. Cummins joins a slate of confirmed officials that includes members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Surface Transportation Board, Christopher Phelan as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and Cameron Hamilton to head FEMA.

The confirmation aligns with President Donald Trump's plan, announced in April, to slash the TSA’s budget by roughly 20% and cut more than 9,400 positions, while requiring smaller airports to contract private security firms—a move projected to remove over 4,500 TSA jobs. Airports in Tampa, Des Moines and Charleston have indicated they will proceed with privatized screening, joining about 20 airports that already use private screeners such as San Francisco and Kansas City.

The proposal follows a spring government shutdown that left 50,000 TSA workers unpaid for six weeks and caused severe security line delays. Airlines for America, representing major carriers, has publicly opposed the shift to private screeners at smaller airports.