Senate Confirms David Cummins to Lead TSA Amid Privatization Push

The U.S. Senate confirmed David Cummins, a senior vice president of Serco, to lead the Transportation Security Administration in a 51-47 vote on Friday. The appointment fills a 16-month vacancy that began after the 2025 firing of David Pekoske. Cummins takes over an agency that has faced significant instability, including a spring government shutdown that left 50,000 workers unpaid for six weeks and caused security delays exceeding four hours.

President Donald Trump is utilizing the leadership change to advance a plan to privatize security screeners at smaller airports, a move that would eliminate more than 4,500 TSA jobs. This follows a broader proposal from April to cut the agency's budget by approximately $1.5 billion, or 20%, and remove over 9,400 workers.

While airports in Tampa, Des Moines, and Charleston intend to proceed with privatization, the proposal faces industry resistance. Airlines for America has formally opposed the White House plan to shift security responsibilities away from the federal government.