TSA worker sues to allow transgender officers to perform pat-downs
A transgender Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer in Virginia is suing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), accusing it of sex discrimination over a new policy that bars transgender agents from conducting security screening pat-downs, according to a federal lawsuit.
Danielle Mittereder, a transgender woman and TSA officer at Dulles International Airport, filed the lawsuit Friday claiming the new policy violates civil rights law, according to The Associated Press.
A TSA spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the new policy states that only male officers can perform pat-downs on male passengers and only female officers can perform pat-downs on female passengers.
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The rule applies regardless of an officer’s gender identity or transition status.
The spokesperson said that the rule change was implemented to comply with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20. That order, titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” declared that the federal government will recognize only two sexes — male and female — defined by biological sex “at conception.”
Until February, TSA assigned work consistent with officers’ gender identity under a 2021 management directive, the agency said.
“Male Transportation Security Officers will conduct pat-down procedures on male passengers and female Transportation Security Officers will conduct pat-down procedures on female passengers, based on operational needs,” the statement reads.
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According to internal documents obtained by the AP, transgender officers will also no longer serve as a TSA-required witness when a traveler elects to have a pat-down conducted in a private screening area.
Mittereder claims in the lawsuit that transgender officers are also barred from using restrooms that align with their gender identity, arguing the restrictions block promotions, specialized certifications and core job duties.
“Solely because she is transgender, TSA now prohibits plaintiff from conducting core functions of her job, impedes her advancement to higher-level positions and specialized certifications, excludes her from TSA-controlled facilities and subjects her identity to unwanted and undue scrutiny each workday,” the complaint reads, according to the AP.
Mittereder’s attorney, Jonathan Puth, called TSA’s policy “terribly demeaning and 100% illegal,” according to the AP.
DHS pushed back on assertions by some legal experts that the policy is discriminatory.
“Does the AP want female travelers to be subjected to pat-downs by male TSA officers?” Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a written response to the outlet.
“What a useless and fundamentally dangerous idea, to prioritize mental delusion over the comfort and safety of American travelers,” McLaughlin added.
Fox News Digital also reached out to DHS for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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