Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s daughter, Evita Duffy-Alfonso, has railed against the Transportation Security Administration after she was given what she called an "absurdly invasive” pat down at an airport security checkpoint.
“I nearly missed my flight this morning after the TSA made me wait 15 minutes for a pat-down because I’m pregnant and didn’t feel like getting radiation exposure from their body scanner,” Duffy-Alfonso wrote on X Thursday.
The TSA uses millimeter wave advanced imaging technology to screen passengers for any threats such as weapons and explosives that may be concealed under clothing.
The agency says the technology has no known adverse health effects and meets national health and safety standards. The scanners use non-ionizing radio-frequency energy, which is used by everyday electronic devices such as cell phones and Wi-Fi routers.
A TSA spokesman told The Independent, “We are aware of the incident in question. TSA takes complaints about airport security screening procedures seriously and investigates complaints thoroughly to ensure the correct procedures are applied.”
Duffy-Alfonso claimed the TSA agents she encountered were “passive-aggressive, rude, and tried to pressure me and another pregnant woman into just walking through the scanner because it’s ‘safe.’
“After finally getting the absurdly invasive pat-down, I barely made my flight.”
The TSA says passengers generally have the option to decline the advanced imaging technology for a physical screening.
“All this for an unconstitutional agency that isn’t even good at its job. Perhaps things would have gone more smoothly if I’d handed over my biometric data to a random private company (CLEAR). Then I could enjoy the special privilege of waiting in a shorter line to be treated like a terrorist in my own country,” Duffy-Alfonso said.
CLEAR is a company that provides an opt-in service for passengers who want to expedite the identity verification process at the airport. Facial biometrics are used to verify their identity. This process comes before the screening process.
Duffy-Alfonso then evoked George Orwell — the author who penned the dystopian novel 1984 that has a focus on mass surveillance — in her rant.
“Is this freedom? Travel, brought to you by George Orwell—and the privilege of convenience based solely on your willingness to surrender biometric data and submit to radiation exposure? The ‘golden age of transportation’ cannot begin until the TSA is gone,” she said.
The “Golden Age of Travel” is a term the Transportation Department coined in November in a push “restore courtesy and class to air travel,” which for Duffy includes passengers leaving their pajamas and slippers at home.
The Independent has reached out to the Transportation Department for comment.
One X user suggested Duffy-Alfonso contact her dad if she had a problem.
“Ma’am…you know the Transportation Secretary pretty well. Perhaps you should run this by him,” she wrote.
Duffy-Alfonso replied: “He isn’t in charge of TSA. TSA is under DHS, which is run by Kristi Noem. If he did have TSA, he’d radically limit it and lobby Congress to abolish it.”
Another X user suggested Duffy-Alfonso get to the airport earlier next time.
“If you know you aren’t going through the scanner and will opt to wait for a pat-down, plan your time accordingly. Think of it as a lesson in developing the time-management parenting skills you’ll need going forward as you raise your child,” they wrote.
Duffy-Alfonso said she got to the airport an hour and 10 minutes before her flight.
Officials recommend arriving at the airport two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights.
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