Trump decapitates TSA

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been without leadership since Monday (20JAN25). After Trump was sworn in as President, he fired TSA Administrator David Pekoske. Simultaneously, FAA Chief Mike Whitaker made good on his earlier announcement and resigned from his post. This deprived the two agencies of their leading figures.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske was ousted by Trump following his inauguration –  photo: courtesy TSA

For the time being, Pekoske will be replaced by Deputy Administrator Holly Canevari, who will head the agency until the vacancy is filled with a loyal Trump supporter. The names of potential candidates for the top TSA management position have not yet been communicated. The same applies to the staffing of the top position at the FAA.

His term ended with the beginning of Trump’s presidency
In his role as administrator Pekoske was responsible for a workforce of roughly 60,000 spread across the entire nation liable for supervising and protecting the entire U.S. transportation systems, including cargo traffic, and the traveling public. He said in a memo reported by CNN and confirmed by Reuters that he was advised by Trump’s transition team “that my time as your administrator will end at noon ET today.”

Before leaving his chair, Pekoske issued a farewell message to TSA employees, 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,” Mr. 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.” 

Mike Whitaker resigned on 20JAN, enabling Trump to pick one of his loyal followers as successor – photo: Courtesy AP

No MAGA, no job
The official 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.” 

Following his inauguration, Trump fired four more senior government officials appointed by his predecessor 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 his platform Truth Social.

Whitaker’s resignation comes at a time when the FAA is facing a major probe into safety problems at Boeing and amid ongoing challenges with air traffic controller shortages and aging equipment. The FAA Administrator, who has earned bipartisan respect, took over the position in OCT23 at a troubled moment for the agency as it grappled with major challenges in replenishing its depleted air traffic controller workforce — all before an Alaskan Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX door blew off midair alarming passengers and the FAA. 

Until the Trump administration appoints a successor to Whitaker, the FAA is now leaderless.

McCarthy as role model
Critics are already talking about the start of a witch hunt that is likely to further divide American society. A leading Chicago businessman told CargoForwarder Global that Trump’s first actions are reminiscent of the unholy times of communist hunter Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s, who claimed to have identified 200+ Communists working incognito within the U.S. Department of State. From that moment Senator McCarthy became a tireless crusader against Communism and conducted hearings on communist subversion in America and investigated alleged communist infiltration of the Armed Forces.

According to his own announcements, Trump intends to fire thousands of civil servants who are critical of his MAGA policy.

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