The U.S. Senate voted to confirm President Biden’s nominee, David Pekoske, for a second term as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Before the vote, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, spoke on the Senate floor urging lawmakers to support the nomination.

“Security demands for the agency are returning, and every day are continuing to grow,” Sen. Cantwell said. “We know that we need to have continued experienced leadership, and Admiral Pekoske is well qualified for this position. He will continue to make transportation security and its modernization the nation's number one priority as it relates to this sector.”

The Administration was established in the wake of the September 11th attacks, which federalized the security screening at airports of passengers and their property to protect our nation’s transportation systems. Today, TSA screens more than 2 million travelers every day. TSA has a workforce of approximately 60,000 employees with nearly 50,000 of these employees serving as frontline Transportation Security Officers at airport checkpoints. TSA secures U.S. transportation systems, working closely with stakeholders in aviation, rail, transit, highway, and pipeline sectors.

The Committee held a nomination for Mr. Pekoske on July 13, 2022, and passed his nomination out of the Committee on July 27, 2022.

David Pekoske was confirmed by the Senate for his first term as TSA administrator in August 2017. Pekoske also served as Acting Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security from January 20 to February 2, 2021. Before joining TSA, Pekoske was an executive in the government services industry, providing counterterrorism, security and intelligence support services to government agencies. Pekoske served as the 26th Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Pekoske holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Senator Cantwell’s floor speech video is available here and transcript is available here.