By Channon Hanna
This week, the aviation community received shocking news when Erroll Southers withdrew his name from consideration to be the next Administrator for the Transportation Security Administration. Over the past several weeks, Southers’ nomination had become quite controversial particularly among a few senators who had concerns over the possibility that collective bargaining rights could be given to the Transportation Security Officers who work at screening checkpoints at our nation’s airports. Others expressed concerns surrounding his censure from the FBI over 20 years ago for accessing a criminal database for information on his estranged wife’s boyfriend.
Despite these concerns, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced last month that the Senate would be quick to take up Southers’ nomination as soon as Congress returned to work from the holiday break. Southers withdrew his nomination the evening before Reid was expected to offer the first in a series of procedural motions that would have been required to obtain a final vote on the nominee.
Yesterday, Southers gave a detailed interview to Rob Margetta, a reporter for CQ Homeland Security. In the article, he states his belief that “TSA needs leadership,” and that he believed he was well-qualified for the position but that he “was becoming a discretion and wanted the process [of confirming an Administrator] to move along.”
Unfortunately, the process of vetting, nominating and confirming a new nominee now begins again.