Ron DeSantis tells Hannity he might run in 2028, wants to abolish TSA!

Here’s another name that should be floated for 2028: Ron DeSantis. The popular Florida Republican governor told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that he is considering another run for the presidency. Let’s watch. You know what? I hope he does run. The Republican Party could certainly do worse than Ron DeSantis, who had the misfortune of going up against Donald Trump at the height of his power. MAGA voters were not ready to move on from Trump, especially after Democrats pursued every means possible to make sure that Trump could not run again — even to legally bar him from doing so. At that point, Republican voters thought it was vital for them to stand by Trump instead of moving on to a candidate picked for them by GOP elites. But that doesn’t mean there was anything wrong with DeSantis. On the contrary, he has governed Florida incredibly well, and his modeled good conservative governance. This was especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Florida became a haven for sanity, making vaccines swiftly available for those who wanted them and relaxing government health mandates so that people could make their own choices. Florida’s tax and regulatory policies are also quite attractive, which is why the wealthiest and most successful tech entrepreneurs are eager to move out of California and take up residence in Florida. Indeed, DeSantis is full of good ideas. Here’s one I like in particular: Abolish the TSA and replace it with standard security measures that are used by large event venues all over the country. Over the weekend, DeSantis wrote on X: “Is there evidence that creating TSA has made air travel safer over the past 25 years? If not, then why not let the airlines and airports handle it? Why give politicians the power to play games with the travel of our people?” He’s responding, of course, to the utter insanity currently unfolding at airports all over the country; TSA workers aren’t getting paid due to Congress’s failure to fund DHS, and so they are choosing not to work. This has made the wait times at airports incredibly long — we all know people who have had to stand around for four or five hours, missing flights because of this. It’s wrong; frankly, it’s a form of torture, and should be addressed right away, with Congress voting to fully fund the agency that is mandated to provide airport security. But long term, the proper solution would be to get rid of TSA entirely. It is an expensive, bloated bureaucracy that does not make anyone meaningfully safer. We don’t need to pat down people in wheelchairs, or confiscate water bottles, or take apart laptops. We don’t need to rifle through people’s underclothes, or subject them to porno scanners, or make them walk barefoot. None of these measures make us safer. They just slow things down, costing time and ultimately money. Importantly, there are no TSA-style security measures in place for trains, the subway, buses and so on. Private security is good enough for those, and it’s good enough for airports. Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.