Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul questioned the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Wednesday, accusing the agency of using watchlists to monitor political dissidents under the guise of counterterrorism. In a letter addressed to TSA Administrator David Pekoske, Paul cited whistleblower reports that revealed the surveillance of former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and the wife of a federal air marshal through the agency’s Quiet Skies program.
“These incidents seem to be part of a broader pattern in which TSA has repurposed Quiet Skies to surveil individuals based on their political activities, even when there is no evidence of wrongdoing,” Paul wrote.
Earlier this month, the whistleblower group Empower Oversight sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, detailing claims of misconduct. A whistleblower disclosed that his wife was wrongfully labeled a “domestic terrorist” and targeted for enhanced surveillance after attending President Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech in Washington, D.C. Although she was not near the Capitol that day, the whistleblower revealed her file falsely claimed she “unlawfully entered the United States Capitol Building.” Her name was eventually removed from the terror watchlist in 2023 after the whistleblower worked with the FBI, but the broader concerns over TSA and FAMS surveillance persisted.
Paul emphasized that these allegations “echo concerns” previously raised by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, which highlighted “critical deficiencies” in the management of the Quiet Skies program, including a lack of oversight and safeguards to prevent the misuse of passenger data.
Empower Oversight further reported that federal air marshals had surveilled Gabbard on at least eight flights after she publicly criticized Biden on Fox News. The group's president, Tristan Leavitt, accused the TSA of launching a retaliatory investigation against the whistleblower who disclosed these abuses, urging agency leadership to focus on the misconduct instead of silencing those who speak out.
Read Senator Paul’s letter here.
