Simple Flying
Michael Doran
07 February 2025
Millions of US Federal Government employees are living in limbo following the new administration's recent directives concerning their employment. In January, that turmoil hit a vital part of aviation, touching the men and women who have some of the toughest yet most important jobs in the sector: the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers.
According to a Bloomberg report today, the Transportation Security Administration has clarified to its thousands of employees that they were not allowed to participate in the new administration's offer to quit their jobs in return for pay and benefits through September 30, 2025.
On January 28, TSA employees received an email detailing the administration's Deferred Resignation Program, now denoted as the "Fork in the road" email. That was soon followed on January 30 with a message from the TSA's Office of the Administrator, seen by Bloomberg, which told employees:
"Today, DHS Acting Under Secretary for Management provided updated guidance that TSA employees are not allowed to participate in deferred resignation. Enterprise Support will coordinate directly with any employees who may have responded to the email when information is received."
The email was confirmed by a federal agency spokesperson familiar with the matter, who said TSA employees were excluded because they are considered part of national security. There are around 65,000 people at the TSA and the agency said it had screened a record 904 million individuals at airport checkpoints during 2024.
Read on: TSA Confirms Its 65,000 Staffers Are Exempt From Trump Administration's Buyout Offer
