How Many TSA Screeners at Inauguration
 

Was wondering how many TSA screeners were pulled from around the country to help staff the inauguration?

It would seem that pulling even a few TSA screeners would weaken airport security or perhaps TSA has excess employees.

I don't know the answer but I have read that TSA screeners were taking empty water bottles away from people trying to get on to the Mall.

TSA/Secret Service claimed to be screening 1500 people per hour. I know that when I went to the 2009 Inauguration, I saw nobody being screened. I tend to think that's probably the case this year also.

It would strengthen airport security and weaken inauguration security.

Even if you asume that there were 100,000 people down at the Mall yesterday, 1500 per hour meant that it wold have taken 66.6 hours to screen all the people. Par for the course for the TSA.

The closer in ticketed areas are screened.

This is true.

I've read that TSA were 90 minutes late in opening the screening for those areas, were slow in screening and caused many people to miss the festivities.

From our friend, Lisa Farbstein:


Once again, I don't see the link once I post.

Every screener in this picture is excess for airport screening operations.

I sure hope taxpayer dollars weren't spent to bring them in from around the country, feed them, and lodge them.

Of course it was our dollars that paid for this.

Of course tax dollars were spent. They are federal employees traveling for their job. Flights, hotels and per diem are covered.

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TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator

Did they get these privileged TSOs by shutting down Pre lanes or are they just non-working BDOs, LTSOs and STSOs who got a taxpayer-funded boondoggle standing around someplace besides the airport checkpoints?

And if you scroll down LisaF twitter page you will see TSO's from JFK visiting the Washington Monument, probably on our dime as well.
Did they follow federal employee travel guidelines and take Amtrak or did they fly?

On the upside, I bet it increased their moral and gave them a warm fuzzy feeling that they were needed...for a change. :rolleyes: