TSA Head Refuses To Stay On For Trump
Peter Neffenger was praised by Congress for turning the TSA around and retraining its failing agents—but when the Trump team reportedly asked him to stay, it was too little, too late.
Kimberly Dozier
01.19.17 6:35 PM ET
TSA administrator Peter Neffenger spent Thursday saying his goodbyes after only a year and a half at the post, a casualty of the disarray in some parts of the Trump transition process. Team Trump called him only in the last two weeks to ask him to stay—too late to change his plans, U.S. officials tell The Daily Beast.
Widely hailed as competent and innovative by Congress, Neffenger is a retired admiral and a political independent. He’s also the fifth administrator of the Transportation Safety Board in as many years.
Congressional sources disappointed over his departure say they may draft legislation to set terms for the TSA role, akin to the 10-year term for the FBI director.
The missed opportunity to keep Neffenger at his post reflects the late start the Trump transition team got when it dropped New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as its transition lead just after the election—and also reflects the sharp-elbowed jockeying among Trump advisers and campaign staff as they scramble to fill the thousands of soon-to-be empty posts after an election they didn’t expect to win. Outgoing Obama administration officials fear the staffing melee will leave the new administration unprepared to cope with a crisis, but Trump transition officials—and Democrats who’ve gone through transitions before—say it’s par for the course, and that Washington, D.C.’s standing bureaucracy will keep government running until the top posts are filled.
more:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/19/tsa-head-refuses-to-stay-on-for-trump.html?via=newsletter&source=DDAfternoon
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