A Senate-led investigation has exposed how the Transportation Security Administration’s Quiet Skies program strayed far from its original purpose, tracking US citizens, including elected officials, veterans, and political dissenters, without due process or clear justification.
The revelations came during a hearing led by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, who has been investigating the program since 2024.
Documents entered into the record revealed the scale and scope of the surveillance effort, with new evidence showing that three Republican members of Congress were monitored.
We obtained a copy of the documents for you here.
In two cases, the individuals were placed under watch before taking office.
The Department of Homeland Security provided its names and related notes to the Committee, but they remain undisclosed to the public.
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Committee staff noted that even a basic review should have identified them as either elected officials or decorated service members.
The surveillance was not limited to lawmakers. Federal Air Marshal Mark Crowder testified about how his wife, Christine Crowder, was flagged and subjected to surveillance due to traveling with him.
TSA records show she was listed under “Special Mission Coverage” because she shared an itinerary with someone the agency mistakenly believed had entered the Capitol on January 6.
The TSA later acknowledged the error as a case of mistaken identity.
Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawaii congresswoman and now Director of National Intelligence, was also monitored during eight separate flights.
Internal documents confirmed she was flagged due to a tenuous link to someone listed in the sprawling Terrorist Screening Database.
The justification did not involve any direct evidence of wrongdoing.
Internal emails show that after news of her surveillance became public, the agency began reviewing who had access to the information.
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In another breach of protocol, TSA agents used a screenshot of her online congressional biography instead of an official identification photo to verify her identity.
Witnesses at the hearing included whistleblowers, legal experts, and civil liberties advocates.
Alongside Mark Crowder, the Committee heard from Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt, Racket News editor Matt Taibbi, AEI fellow Jim Harper, and Abed Ayoub of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Their testimonies described a system where vague suspicion or political activity could result in Americans being placed under surveillance.
Senator Paul did not hold back in his assessment. “I commend Secretary Noem for ending Quiet Skies, but our work is not done. We must make sure that this program does not come back under another name. Every official who directed or approved surveillance of Americans for protected speech must be removed from office. Full transparency must become the rule rather than requiring a year of investigation.”
Records submitted to the Committee showed TSA tracked individuals for reasons far outside the bounds of security.
At least 24 people were placed in the program for links to groups that opposed mask mandates. Twelve more were added after removing their masks during flights.
One TSA memo described mask removal as “an act of extreme recklessness in carrying out an act that represents a threat to the life of passengers and crew.”
Now-Director of National Intelligence Gabbard condemned the program’s misuse and its staggering cost:
“The Quiet Skies Program has been used for nearly two decades to target and surveil everyday Americans, violating our constitutional rights and civil liberties, targeting political opponents, and costing taxpayers approximately $200 million per year, all while failing to stop a single terrorist.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has taken action to shut the program down, called for a deeper investigation:
“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.”
Additional disclosures showed that simply planning travel to Washington, D.C., near January 6 was enough to be flagged.
Some individuals were targeted for “enhanced screening” even if there was no specific information linking them to any criminal activity.
With Quiet Skies officially ended, Paul and others are warning that its infrastructure remains intact and could be rebranded or revived.
The Committee’s investigation has reinforced growing demands for not only transparency but permanent safeguards to prevent intelligence tools from being turned against the public.
