TSA agents want their chairs back after Trump removes them for fitness purposes

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents will no longer be able to sit down while checking passports, but many aren't happy with the change.

A TSA spokesperson defended the decision, as they said in a statement to Fortune: “TSA officers performing the travel document checker role are the first to interact with the traveling public.

“This welcome change reinforces both our security posture and our commitment to hospitality by having these officers on their feet and alert. All officers must meet fitness for duty requirements to be capable of performing their vital national security function while simultaneously creating a welcoming and professional environment for travelers.”

However, the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100, which represents TSA officers, claimed it found out about the decision through its members said it was a 'disregard for workers rights and safety.'

The change comes as the Trump Administration has placed greater emphasis on 'suitability and fitness' within the federal workforce.

TSA officers have had their chairs removed (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In March 2025, the President signed a new Presidential Memorandum titled 'Strengthening the Suitability and Fitness of the Federal Workforce.' This gave the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) greater authority to oversee and strengthen suitability and fitness determinations for federal employees.

The administration has also proposed significant cuts to the TSA. In April, the president proposed getting rid of more than 9000 TSA jobs, as well as cutting roughly $1.5 billion from the agency’s budget.

However, TSA officers are now fighting back, and calling for their chairs to be returned to airports.

The Federation of Government employees, which represents the TSA officers is protesting the agency's decision to take away their chairs, ABC News reports.

They say: "Our officers screen millions of people a day and they do it right sitting or standing."

A number of agents are now asking the public to help by signing a letter urging the TSA to bring the chairs back.

Agents are asking the public to help (Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The outrage has spread across to social media, with one former worker writing: "I worked for TSA. You need chairs at checkpoints. Agents have long and stressful days and they need to rest their feet."

Another penned: "Unless they can prove the chairs negatively impact their performance I don't see a reason for taking them away."

A third simply exclaimed: "Give them back their chairs!"

Experts also agree. Dr. Turner Osler, an emeritus professor at the University of Vermont told UNILAD: "It's shocking that the TSA would impose this health risk upon their employees.

"Because sitting is known to be a health risk, many people reasonably assume standing is the healthy alternative to sitting. But the evidence says otherwise."

The expert pointed to a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology that followed 7,320 Ontario workers for about 12 years.

"People whose jobs were mostly standing had roughly twice the risk of developing heart disease compared with people whose jobs were mostly sitting," he claims.

"That gap held up after the researchers adjusted for age, education, health, shift work and how physically demanding the job was. Standing isn't the opposite of sitting. Movement is."