On Monday, the Senate easily confirmed Coast Guard Vice. Adm. Peter Neffenger as the new administrator of the embattled Transportation Security Administration, by a vote of 81-1. Obama nominated Neffenger in April, before a damning report showing that TSA airport screeners had allowed 67 out of 70 prohibited items past security during undercover tests. The TSA has been without a permanent leader since John Pistole stepped down in December, after 4.5 years on the job.
"Vice Adm. Neffenger will certainly have a tough job ahead of him," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said before the vote. "We're all aware of the recent inspector general report that questioned the TSA's ability to meet its security mission without change." Neffenger, who has been with the Coast Guard since 1981, will now oversee an agency with 60,000 employees covering 450 airports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Taps could run dry in drought-stricken TehranUnder the Radar President warns that unless rationing eases water crisis, citizens may have to evacuate the capital
-
Alaska faces earth-shaking loss as seismic monitoring stations shutterIN THE SPOTLIGHT NOAA cuts have left the western seaboard without a crucial resource to measure, understand and predict tsunamis
-
10 great advent calendars for everyone (including the dog)The Week Recommends Countdown with cocktails, jams and Legos
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
