TSA administrator says he'd like to stay on under Trump
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) chief David Pekoske said earlier this week that he would like to continue serving under President-elect Trump.
CBS’s Tony Dokoupil asked Pekoske if he anticipates staying in the role when Trump returns to the White House.
“Yeah, I hope to stay,” he replied in the interview Tuesday on "CBS Mornings."
“I love the role," Pekoske continued. "I think it's important for continuity in TSA to run the second term to its conclusion.”
He was first confirmed by unanimous consent in 2017, during Trump's first term in office. In September 2022, he was confirmed again by the Senate for a second five-year term via a 77-18 vote.
“We're doing a lot of improvements in TSA,” Pekoske said Tuesday. “We've made a lot of technology investment, we've made a lot of investments in our workforce, and we have great partners with airports, airlines and all the surface transportation systems like gas pipelines and rail systems.”
Trump's rhetoric since Election Day — when he beat Vice President Harris — suggests he is looking for sweeping changes in the federal government. In remarks a day after his victory, he said “we’re going to fix everything about our country.”
Thus far, his Cabinet and key leadership nominations have varied widely from his first administration and those of President Biden.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has emerged a staunch Trump ally, echoed the president-elect's remarks in a post on the social platform X following the election, saying Americans “gave @realDonaldTrump a crystal clear mandate for change tonight.”
Last week, Trump announced Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as the heads of a new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), which aims to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures,” as well as restructure federal agencies.
DOGE would “provide advice and guidance from outside of government,” and work alongside the White House's Office of Management and Budget, the president-elect said.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.