The Trump administration has officially dismantled the TSA’s controversial “Quiet Skies” program, a covert surveillance initiative that operated largely outside public awareness and accountability. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the move, calling the program a bloated, ineffective, and politically tainted relic of the past.
Originally launched in 2010, the Quiet Skies program was supposed to monitor individuals deemed potential security risks—often without a criminal record or placement on any watchlist. But under the Biden administration, the program reportedly morphed into a surveillance tool used not for safety, but for political advantage.
Recent revelations uncovered troubling abuses: former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who now serves as Director of National Intelligence, was allegedly subjected to targeted screening after publicly criticizing then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Meanwhile, political allies of the Biden White House, including William Shaheen—husband of Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen—were allegedly granted exemptions from scrutiny despite red flags among their travel companions.
“It became a taxpayer-funded political weapon,” said Noem. “Instead of protecting Americans, it was used to track political opponents and protect the connected elite. That ends now.”
The program, which reportedly cost American taxpayers $200 million a year, failed to prevent a single terrorist attack during its existence. The administration has called for a congressional investigation to identify who authorized the abuses and how deeply the corruption ran.
While the TSA will continue standard screening procedures, Secretary Noem emphasized that future security measures will be grounded in legitimate risk—not partisan agendas. The decision underscores President Trump’s broader effort to root out the entrenched bureaucracy and restore trust in federal institutions.