President Donald Trump fires TSA Administrator Pekoske, warns of more dismissals
By Goda Labanauskaite
The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) David Pekoske has been asked to step down from his role following Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration.
On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the new President of the United States. On his first day, he signed executive orders to undo policies or decisions taken by former President Joe Biden.
On the same day Pekoske issued a farewell message to TSA employees before his firing took effect, saying that he was advised to resign by Trump’s transition team.
“I will sincerely miss being part of this agency and having the opportunity to serve alongside this incredible team,” Pekoske wrote. “It has been an honor of a lifetime! I leave with the utmost respect for you and immense pride in what we have accomplished together since August 2017.”
He added: “People place their trust in you no matter what your job is in TSA, so they can travel and the goods they rely on can reach them via our transportation systems. It’s an incredible responsibility that each of you has been entrusted with, and you carry it out in a manner that is an example of the best of America.”
According to the TSA’s official website, Pekoske was first confirmed as the seventh Administrator of the TSA by the US Senate in August 2017 and was reconfirmed for a second term in September 2022.
He managed a workforce of more than 60,000 employees and was responsible for security operations at nearly 440 airports throughout the US. It is currently unclear who will succeed him as the TSA Administrator.
On January 21, 2025, Trump fired four more senior government officials appointed by Biden and warned that “over a thousand” others might face the same fate.
“My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again,” Trump confirmed in a post on Truth Social.
In December 2024, Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) Administrator Mike Whitaker announced his intention to step down as the agency’s head on Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day. Whitaker confirmed that his final day at the FAA would be on January 20, 2025.
