As Lauren Boebert rallies for TSA abolishment, a Delta stowaway is caught sans ankle monitor en route to a new destination

With Donald Trump’s reelection, many government programs are facing potential cuts. One of the proposals generating a lot of buzz is the idea to eliminate the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert is in favor of—though we can’t be sure she fully understands what the TSA even does. And as if things weren’t chaotic enough, someone managed to trick the TSA and sneak onto a plane heading to Paris from JFK.

The push to eliminate the TSA isn’t as radical as it might sound. Let’s be honest—no one enjoys going through TSA at the airport. Long lines, endless security checks, and the overall hassle aren’t exactly anyone’s idea of a good time. So, the idea of getting rid of one of the most disliked agencies in the government doesn’t spark much outrage. In fact, it’s not the most controversial issue on the table.

Senator Mike Lee from Utah seems to be leading the charge to end the TSA. On December 16, he urged his Republican colleagues to consider abolishing the agency, alongside the idea of ending the Affordable Care Act. That might be a tougher sell since the ACA has made healthcare a bit more affordable for millions of Americans.

Lee took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his thoughts: “Congress should abolish TSA,” he said. “If Congress can’t abolish it, they should at least privatize it and make the remaining TSA services compete with private security contractors.” Oh, privatize it, huh? Because privatizing prisons worked so well… right?

Boasting support for this idea, Boebert is all about jumping on any bandwagon that gets her attention. Who needs original ideas when you can just be a follower in someone else’s game?

A quick history lesson: The TSA was created in the aftermath of 9/11 when the country was grieving and searching for security solutions. Over the years, it has gained a reputation for overstepping its bounds and infringing on people’s rights. Some experts, like political scientist Rachel Bitecofer, argue that abolishing the TSA may not be the best idea.

Is the TSA actually doing its job? Back in 2016, VOX published an article claiming that the TSA is a waste of money, doesn’t save lives, and may even be doing more harm than good. The argument was that the TSA is trying to fix a problem that doesn’t really exist. The piece pointed out that airplane hijackings and bombings are incredibly rare, and it’s hard to measure whether the TSA is truly preventing attacks. If no one tries an attack, how can we say that the TSA’s liquid restrictions are actually stopping something?

In fact, Homeland Security officials once tried to smuggle guns and bombs through TSA checkpoints 70 times. They succeeded 67 times, which gives them a success rate of over 94%. To make matters worse, a woman named Svetlana Dali was able to bypass TSA and sneak onto a plane without a ticket or boarding pass. She used an employee lane to get through and walked right past the Delta agents at the gate. She even hid in the bathroom during the flight and hopped between bathrooms to avoid detection. She was eventually caught by French police when the plane landed and sent back to the U.S. She was fitted with an ankle monitor, but she cut it off and tried to flee to Canada on a Greyhound bus. Though she didn’t make it, her escape plan was impressively resourceful. Maybe Boebert could learn a thing or two from her.

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