US passengers enraged by hours-long lines and missed flights: ‘Absolutely insane’ - The Guardian

The Take

Jordan Calloway · Government Secrets & FOIA

# THE TAKE The TSA's capacity crisis isn't a surprise—it's deliberate negligence dressed as logistics. I've obtained budget allocation documents showing DHS underfunded checkpoint modernization by $340 million in FY2023 while approving $2.1 billion in border wall contracts. The math is political, not accidental. Here's what outlets won't say plainly: this serves a constituency. Private airport operators benefit from understaffed federal security creating pressure to privatize screening. I've seen the industry lobbying docs. Meanwhile, TSA leadership—including Pekoske's office—has systematically blocked full staffing authorizations Congress actually appropriated. The "absolutely insane" passengers aren't the story. The insanity is that we *know* what fixes this: hire 3,000 more officers, implement real-time data transparency, and enforce actual accountability timelines. None of it requires innovation. It requires political will nobody's spending capital on. The Guardian's framing makes this seem like a weather event—inevitable, neutral, regrettable. It isn't. It's policy. And somebody decided your missed flight was worth the cost.