Should we privatize TSA?

我们是否应该私有化美国交通安全管理局(TSA)?

Today, Explained

2026-03-31

26 分钟
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单集简介 ...

The US government shutdown has left TSA workers unpaid, airports a hot mess, and a lot of people wondering if it's time to privatize airport security. This episode was produced by Danielle Hewitt, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Andrea Lopez-Cruzado, engineered by Patrick Boyd and David Tatasciore, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. A TSA agent looks on passengers at New York's LaGuardia airport. Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  • By this point, you've surely heard that we're living through the longest government shutdown in United States history.

  • It's the reason for all the chaos at our airports.

  • Democrats don't want to give ICE any more money.

  • The president has shown little to no interest in negotiating.

  • But then ahead of the Easter recess, the president said he'd find a way to pay TSA agents.

  • So all of a sudden, maybe the shutdown was sort of bunk.

  • Early Friday morning, the Senate was also busy.

  • They unanimously passed a funding deal.

  • Then they take off for their two-week recess.

  • But then far-right Republicans in the House hated it because it still didn't fund ICE.

  • So they reject it.

  • Pass a version that funds ICE, and then they take off for their two-week recess.

  • Fixes nothing.

  • Around this time, TMZ enters the chat, posts a call-out for photos of lawmakers vacationing at our expense

  • while we have to suffer through airport chaos.

  • Pretty quickly, they get a shot of Lindsey Graham at Disney World.

  • You might remember Lindsey from helping kick off the war in Iran.

  • The latest news is that TSA agents got their back pay at some point today,

  • but we 're still not sure if they 're going to get regular paychecks moving forward,

  • so we 're going to check in with a TSA agent on Today Explained from Vox.