It’s hard to feel sympathetic. It’s actually gracious of them to offer an alternative.
I strongly disagree. The courts have repeatedly struck down limits on domestic travel over the past couple hundred years.
In fact, the $45 "fee" is an acknowledgment that you aren't required to have special documents to travel within the US. Otherwise, they just wouldn't let you travel.
So instead, they're making more security theater and punishing you if you don't comply with their demands.
That's not "gracious," that's coercive.
Edit: Fixed incorrect usage ("they'd" vs. "they").