Trump proposes to cut 9,400 TSA workers, $1.5 billion from budget

The White House grounds, as demolition work continues at the East Wing, where U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed ballroom is being built, as seen from Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 24, 2025. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo)

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - The White House is proposing to cut more than 9,400 workers and just over $1.5 billion from the 60,000-employee Transportation Security Administration that handles airport security operations, according to budget documents.

President Donald Trump on Friday proposed requiring smaller airports to drop TSA and use private security as a first step to privatizing the agency created after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The White House said privatizing the smaller airports would cut the TSA payroll by more than 4,500 jobs. The TSA proposes to cut another 4,800 jobs by improving efficiency, ending staffing at exit lanes and eliminating redundancies.



(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)