The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is ending a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) program surveilling Americans.
“It is clear that the Quiet Skies program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration—weaponized against its political foes and exploited to benefit their well-heeled friends. I am calling for a Congressional investigation to unearth further corruption at the expense of the American people and the undermining of US national security,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “TSA’s critical aviation and security vetting functions will be maintained, and the Trump Administration will return TSA to its true mission of being laser-focused on the safety and security of the traveling public. This includes restoring the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans.”
The Quiet Skies program has never stopped terrorist attacks and has instead cost taxpayers $200 million a year, DHS said. The program began in 2010.
DHS has uncovered evidence of the program’s politicization. Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-NH) husband, William “Billy Shaheen,” was given exemptions while non-politically aligned individuals, like then-Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, received additional screening.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) recently confirmed that the Biden-era TSA surveilled Gabbard.
“These documents confirm our suspicions. Federal air marshals surveilled the now-director of national intelligence during domestic flights in 2024, reporting back information related to her appearance and even how many electronics she was observed using. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case,” Paul stated.
“I’m horrified by the idea that we took a former congresswoman and we’re surveilling her and riding on jets with her,” he said.
