The eldest daughter of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Fox News host Rachel Duffy said she nearly missed her flight on Dec. 18 because of an incident with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff.
“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.
“The agents were passive-aggressive, rude, and tried to pressure me, and another pregnant woman, into just walking through the scanner because it’s ’safe.'”
Duffy-Alfonso, who did not say where the incident happened, got a pat-down.
“After finally getting the absurdly invasive pat-down, I barely made my flight,” she said.
Duffy-Alfonso went on to say that TSA is “an unconstitutional agency that isn’t even good at its job.”
TSA was created by Congress shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Duffy-Alfonso said about her experience: “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. 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.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to CLEAR for comment.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, TSA said it is “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,” the agency said.
At least a couple of users on X responded to Duffy-Alfonso, pointing out that her father is the Secretary of Transportation. She responded by noting that TSA is under the Department of Homeland Security, which is led by Secretary Kristi Noem.
“To be clear, I am 100 percent behind all that @POTUS & @DHS has done to keep out terrorists and illegals, especially at the border. In fact, President Trump & @Sec_Noem aren’t getting enough credit for achieving zero illegal border crossings and stopping deranged terrorists from coming into the United States,” she wrote.
“But there needs to be more common sense around how we treat Americans exercising their right to travel.
“And I hope TSA works on improving their treatment of expectant mothers who don’t want to go through body scanners to protect their unborn children. We can do both.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the Department of Transportation for comment from Sean Duffy.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has made changes to the TSA.
This includes terminating the collective bargaining agreement of 47,000 to 50,000 TSA officers.
In January, Trump fired TSA Administrator David Pekoske, whom he appointed to lead the agency in his first term.
