The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has dismissed five senior officials from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for allegedly misusing the ‘Quiet Skies’ program, a defunct aviation security watchlist, to target U.S. citizens. According to DHS, these officials systematically flagged and denied boarding to individuals who exercised their rights and resisted mask mandates on airplanes, even after the CDC relaxed its indoor mask requirements. The agency also accused the TSA of leveraging the January 6, 2021, Capitol protests to blacklist Americans without evidence of misconduct. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem condemned the actions, stating the TSA had “wildly abused their authority, targeting Americans who posed no aviation security risk under the banner of political differences.” The program, launched in 2012 under the Obama-Biden administration, was shuttered by the Trump administration in June 2025. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) previously revealed that former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, now Director of National Intelligence, had been monitored via the initiative in 2024. Gabbard criticized the program as a violation of constitutional rights and a costly failure. The DHS has referred the matter to Congress and the DOJ Civil Rights Division, while the ‘Quiet Skies’ program has been dismantled.
TSA Leadership Removed After Accusations of Targeting Americans via Defunct Watchlist Program
