AP Source: Obama to pick former FBI agent to run the Transportation Security Administration
By Eileen Sullivan, APFriday, August 7, 2009
AP Source: Obama wants former FBI agent to run TSA
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration plans to pick a former FBI special agent to head the federal agency charged with keeping terrorists off airplanes.
According to a Capitol Hill aide, the administration intends to nominate Erroll Southers to be the fifth man to run the Transportation Security Administration. The agency was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not been made.
The TSA is best known for airport security, which includes screening passengers and luggage for dangerous materials.
Southers currently teaches at the University of Southern California. A former police detective, he was deputy director of California’s homeland security office, overseeing counterterrorism policies.
