Story perspectives

TSA adds three airports to Gold+ pilot, targets 4,000 cuts

7/30/2026

Center

TSA Expands Gold+

The Transportation Security Administration announced that Tampa International, Charleston International, and Des Moines International airports will join the Gold+ pilot program.
Its FY2027 budget requests $477 million to expand the program to Category III and IV airports, aiming to cut 4,000 TSA agent positions and save $52 million.
A May 2025 TSA-ICE memorandum on data sharing has led to arrests of visa-overstayers at 15 airports.

Left

TSA Adds Airports

The Transportation Security Administration announced Tampa, Charleston, and Des Moines International airports will join the Gold+ public-private security screening pilot.
The rollout is framed as President Donald Trump’s effort to outsource federal jobs and weaken government-worker unions.
Gold+ gives private contractors control over screening technology and the passenger-screening process.
ICE agents have used TSA passenger data for arrests, prompting attorneys to warn non-citizens.

Blindspot

The TSA’s FY2027 budget request includes $477 million to expand the Screening Partnership Program to all Category III and IV airports, with a goal of cutting more than 4,000 TSA agent positions and saving $52 million.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Center-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Left-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

Created in 2004, the TSA’s Screening Partnership Program let airports contract private firms to perform screenings under federal rules, a move championed by Republican lawmakers and prompting a 2012 congressional hearing on TSA resistance. With more than 32 airports applying, today’s Gold+ rollout at Tampa, Charleston and Des Moines echoes that early public-private experiment.

1 of 4

TSA Expands Gold+

The Transportation Security Administration announced that Tampa International, Charleston International, and Des Moines International airports will join the Gold+ pilot program.
Its FY2027 budget requests $477 million to expand the program to Category III and IV airports, aiming to cut 4,000 TSA agent positions and save $52 million.
A May 2025 TSA-ICE memorandum on data sharing has led to arrests of visa-overstayers at 15 airports.

1 / 4