The DHS knows the threat is minimal. We all know the threat is minimal and that PreCheck should be the standard. The problem is that the USG has spent (thrown away??) tons of our money creating this monstrosity called airport security. In all my years in & around the federal government, I have never seen an agency like the TSA squander all this money, sometimes on programs that they later simply canceled, without anyone being fired. The Blue Cancer Boxes, Puffers, and CastScope immediately come to mind. They have to keep "normal" security theater going because they can't admit the threat no longer supports all of it (if it ever did). Remember that PreCheck was invented to silence the airline industry and the frequent flyers who loudly criticized the TSA. "Keep your mouths shut or we'll take away your privileged status", they said. That's why many of us called it "ExtortionCheck" back in the day. In terms of the "surge", my hunch is that a large percentage of it was a result of the merger with Global Entry and the blanket authorizations to military members and some federal employees. The only reason why Mrs Flies and I have ExtortionCheck at all was because of Global Entry.