TSA to revise procedures; acting chief reassigned

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has reassigned the acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and ordered changes in airport screening procedures in the wake of an inspector general investigation that found significant shortcomings in TSA security screening.

TSA acting Administrator Melvin Carraway was reassigned to the Office of State and Local Law Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters. Acting Deputy Director Mark Hatfield will head up the agency until a new acting administrator is appointed. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Pete Neffenger, nominated last month to serve as the next administrator, awaits Senate confirmation.

In a statement, Johnson said the DHS inspector general had provided him with a preliminary briefing "that reflects test results centered largely on a specific manner in which someone may seek to bring prohibited items through Transportation Security Administration screening into the secure area of an airport."

Johnson said that the inspector general’s preliminary test results are classified, and that "it is not appropriate or prudent to publicly describe these results." However, an ABC News report this week cited unnamed officials who said undercover agents succeeded in smuggling fake explosives and weapons through TSA checkpoints in 67 out of 70 tries.

In his statement, the DHS secretary sought to reassure the flying public by noting that air travelers also "are subject to a robust security system that employs multiple layers of detection and protection, many of which are not visible to the traveling public."

In addition to the reassignment of Carraway, Johnson said he has ordered a number of immediate actions. Among those, the DHS secretary directed TSA to immediately revise its screening to address "the specific vulnerabilities" identified by the IG's test, to conduct training for all transportation security officers and supervisory on those vulnerabilities, and to re-test and re-evaluate the screening equipment in use across the country.

Johnson also asked the IG and TSA to conduct continued random covert testing, and directed TSA and the DHS under secretary for science and technology to explore the adoption of new technologies to address the newly discovered vulnerabilities.

"I continue to have confidence in the TSA workforce," Johnson said. "Last fiscal year TSA screened a record number of passengers at airports in the United States, and, at the same time, seized a record number of prohibited items. TSA and the Inspector General are constantly testing and adapting the systems we have in place as part of our commitment to aviation security."