The ‘Quiet Skies’ program identified certain passengers for enhanced security screening at airports, which Kristi Noem alleged was politicized by Democrats.
WASHINGTON—Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on June 5 that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) would abolish a program that targets some travelers for additional screening when boarding certain flights that depart from the United States.
The “Quiet Skies” program was established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a way of ensuring that higher-risk passengers are more thoroughly searched before they board commercial aircraft.
Once a passenger was identified and put on the Quiet Skies list, he or she would be subject to more invasive security screening by TSA officers at airports.
Conservatives had criticized the Quiet Skies program for allegedly targeting them because of their political views, rather than any genuine security risk.
On June 5, Noem released a video on social media platform X announcing that the program would be abolished.
“I’m announcing that TSA is ending the Quiet Skies program, which involved having a federal agent follow U.S. citizens as they travel by air. It was created by [President Barack] Obama in 2012 to supposedly track dangerous individuals, but, instead, it was weaponized against political enemies such as Tulsi Gabbard,” Noem said.
“The [DHS] and TSA have uncovered documents, correspondence, and timelines that highlight the inconsistency of the application of Quiet Skies. This program … has targeted political opponents and benefited political allies of the Biden administration.”
In a statement following Noem’s announcement, DHS said the program “failed to stop a single terrorist attack while costing U.S. taxpayers $200 million a year.”
Noem also called for a congressional investigation into Quiet Skies, so as to uncover alleged corruption in the program.
By Arjun Singh
