The Trump administration has shut down the TSA’s Quiet Skies program, claiming it was abused by the Biden administration to surveil political opponents rather than keep Americans safe.
Key Facts:
- The Quiet Skies program was launched in 2010 to monitor air travelers flagged as potential threats.
- It cost $200 million annually and, according to DHS, stopped zero terrorist attacks.
- DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the Biden administration “weaponized” the program against political foes like Tulsi Gabbard.
- Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s husband reportedly received special treatment after being flagged multiple times.
- The Trump administration has ended the program and is urging Congress to investigate its past misuse.
The Rest of The Story:
Quiet Skies was a TSA initiative that quietly tracked certain air passengers who were flagged by intelligence agencies.
The program allowed federal air marshals to observe these individuals more closely, often without their knowledge, during domestic flights.
But after years in operation, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that the program has officially been shut down under the Trump administration.
Secretary Kristi Noem said the program “was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration,” allowing political enemies to be tracked and scrutinized during travel.
She cited an instance where Tulsi Gabbard, a critic of Biden and now the Director of National Intelligence, was allegedly targeted by Quiet Skies while campaigning for Trump.
Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s husband reportedly traveled multiple times with a known or suspected terrorist but received a Quiet Skies exemption after the senator intervened.
Shaheen’s office denies any wrongdoing, saying she was unaware her husband had ever been flagged and only contacted TSA after he experienced invasive screenings.
Noem called for a full congressional investigation into the program’s operations during the Biden years.
Today, I’m announcing TSA is ending the Quiet Skies Program, which since its existence has failed to stop a SINGLE terrorist attack while costing US taxpayers roughly $200 million a year.
DHS and TSA have uncovered documents, correspondence, and timelines that clearly… pic.twitter.com/mcdNplUuVV
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) June 5, 2025
Commentary:
Quiet Skies was supposed to be about airline safety.
But like so many tools of government in the Biden era, it was twisted into a weapon against political opponents.
Surveillance programs like this only work when there are strict limits and real accountability.
That clearly didn’t happen here.
Tulsi Gabbard being flagged while campaigning for Trump is outrageous.
She’s a former member of Congress and a prominent national figure.
Using airport security to shadow her speaks volumes about how federal tools were being abused.
And what about Senator Shaheen’s husband?
If DHS is right, this is a clear example of political privilege in action.
The average American wouldn’t get a personal exemption after traveling with suspected terrorists.
But well-connected Democrats seem to play by different rules.
Programs like Quiet Skies cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and offer little in return.
According to DHS, it never stopped a single terrorist attack.
That’s a stunning failure for a program that’s been running since 2010.
The larger issue is trust.
Americans need to believe that airport security is about safety—not politics.
Once that trust is broken, it’s hard to rebuild.
The Biden administration’s misuse of Quiet Skies just deepened that distrust.
This shutdown is a welcome course correction.
It’s time to focus TSA back on its core mission: protecting travelers, not tracking political enemies.
And let’s not stop at shutting it down.
Congress should fully investigate how this program was misused, who signed off on it, and whether laws were broken.
The American people deserve answers and safeguards against future abuse.
The Bottom Line:
The Trump administration has ended the Quiet Skies program, calling it a politically driven surveillance tool misused by the Biden administration.
With no terror attacks stopped and millions wasted, the move is long overdue.
Now the focus shifts to Congress, where calls for a full investigation into the program’s abuse are growing.
This is a clear step toward restoring integrity to national security operations.
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