WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Monday tapped retired Army Major Gen. Robert Harding to lead the Transportation Security Administration.
“I am confident that Bob’s talent and expertise will make him a tremendous asset in our ongoing efforts to bolster security and screening measures at our airports,” Obama said.
Harding is Obama’s second choice for the post after Erroll Southers withdrew from consideration in January following reports that he may have misled Congress about an incident in the late 1980s involving a background check of the boyfriend of his ex-wife.
If confirmed, Harding will probably help settle the issue of whether TSA employees should earn collective bargaining rights, an issue that led Republican lawmakers to place a hold on Southers’ nomination.
