Sen. Mike Lee Introduces Legislation to Ditch the TSA: ‘Too Much Groping, Too Little Benefit’
Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced legislation on Thursday to abolish the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and to privatize security at the nation’s airports, under federal oversight.
The goal of the legislation is to dissolve what Lee and Tuberville call the “bloated and ineffective” TSA while allowing U.S. airports “to compete to provide the safest, most efficient, and least intrusive security measures” under an Office of Aviation Security Oversight.
🚨 #BREAKING: Sen. Mike Lee has introduced legislation to ABOLISH TSA
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 27, 2025
TSA is nothing more than security theater and has NEVER thwarted a single terror attack.
All they do is grope and harass Americans attempting to travel, while making airports miserable.
They have to go! pic.twitter.com/jhxIuqXpfj
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Lee explained:
The TSA has not only intruded into the privacy and personal space of most Americans, it has also repeatedly failed tests to find weapons and explosives. Our bill privatizes security functions at American airports under the eye of an Office of Aviation Security Oversight, bringing this bureaucratic behemoth to a welcome end. American families can travel safely without feeling the hands of an army of federal employees.
The proposed measure would officially abolish the TSA three years after it is enacted into law and also would require the Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation to create and submit a reorganization plan to Congress.
Tuberville echoed the frustrations expressed by Lee, calling the TSA “a bloated agency—riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars—that has led to unnecessary delays, invasive pat downs and bag checks, and frustration for travelers.”
Instead of allowing continued infringement on on Americans’ freedoms, Tuberville said, “We need to focus on more efficient and effective methods to protect our country without sacrificing the liberties and freedoms of American citizens.”
Yahoo News reports that the senators specifically denote in the legislation that the reorganization plan can’t require private security companies to do warrantless searches or extend the TSA in any way.
Response to the proposed bill has been mixed with supporters welcoming a restoration of personal freedom for travelers while opponents warn that dismantling the TSA is gambling with passenger safety.