Trump Administration Proposes Massive Cuts to TSA VIPR Teams

I think this is the first official act of the Trump administration that I can honestly say I can get behind, and enthusiastically. According to the Washington Post, Trump’s budget plan would dramatically cut funding for TSA’s roving Fourth Amendment violation squads, better known as “Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response” (VIPR) teams. From the Post story:

Under the proposed budget, VIPR funding would drop to $15 million from $58 million and the number of VIPR teams would be cut to 8 from 31, with 277 full-time positions being eliminated, according to the report. The Democratic staff members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee say in the report they were told that even though federal officials say eight VIPR teams can “maintain an acceptable security posture,” the three-quarters funding cut will “limit” the presence of teams nationwide.

I would’ve preferred the complete abolition of these ineffectual, costly teams–which have never stopped a single terrorist attack but which have often caused havoc at the transportation hubs they’ve haunted. But these cuts are a welcome, significant step in the right direction, and the administration is to be commended for making this move.