DHS halts ‘Quiet Skies’ program following Republican claims it was used against political opponents

A program designed to flag travelers for potential extra screening and monitoring at airports and on airplanes will be discontinued, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday.

A program designed to flag travelers for potential extra screening and monitoring at airports and on airplanes will be discontinued, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday. The program recently came under attack from Republicans after it was revealed that prior to her appointment to lead the US Intelligence Community, Tulsi Gabbard was temporarily placed on the “Quiet Skies” list – a process that can occur because of a number of different factors, including travel patterns. Being on the list does not mean an individual is suspected or accused of wrongdoing. Quiet Skies has long been the source of negative publicity for TSA, according to a former US official. But officials have seen it as valuable because it allows the agency to order extra security checks for certain people based on specific intelligence. “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,” Noem said in her statement announcing the program’s end. “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.” As CNN previously reported, Gabbard was quickly removed from the list after going public last year with claims she had been added to a “secret terror watchlist” – saying she was placed on the list for criticizing then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.