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.
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.
US officials told CNN that to have a nominee for a top position — much less the director of national intelligence — placed on a government watchlist of any kind was highly unusual, if not unprecedented.
It remains unclear why Gabbard was placed on the list and subsequently removed.
The Quiet Skies algorithm looks at travel patterns, foreign connections and other data in a variety of government holdings, and if triggered, leads to additional security screening at the airport by Air Marshals. But it is not associated with the FBI's terrorist watch list.
Security officials from multiple agencies previously told CNN that the program is known inside the government for having far laxer standards for inclusion.
The program was only one part of airport security and other screening lists still exist inside of the department.
In a press release Thursday, DHS said the program 'was used to target political opponents and benefit political allies.'
'TSA will continue performing important vetting functions tied to legitimate commercial aviation security threats to both ensure the safety of the American traveler and uphold its statutory obligations,' the department said.
CNN's Evan Perez contributed to this report.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why ABC News Anchor Terry Moran Got Fired
Wondering why ABC News fired longtime correspondent Terry Moran? A recent social media post sparked controversy and led to swift action from the network. The situation drew reactions from political figures and raised questions about journalistic standards. Here's what led to Moran's firing and what ABC News said about the decision. ABC News fired Terry Moran after he posted a social media message criticizing Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy. On June 10, 2025, ABC News confirmed it would not renew Moran's contract, stating his post was 'a clear violation of ABC News policies.' In a now-deleted June 8 post on X, Moran called Miller 'a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred' and described Trump as a 'world-class hater' who uses hatred for self-glorification. ABC News responded by suspending Moran and later announced his departure, citing a breach of its standards for 'objectivity, fairness and professionalism.' A spokesperson told USA TODAY, 'We are at the end of our agreement with Terry Moran and based on his recent post… we have made the decision to not renew.' The network emphasized that its reporters must adhere to editorial guidelines that prohibit subjective personal attacks. The post sparked a backlash from senior Republicans. Vice President JD Vance called Moran's remarks 'an absolutely vile smear.' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the post as 'unhinged and unacceptable' and said the White House had contacted ABC about the matter. According to The Washington Post, Moran was initially suspended 'pending further evaluation' of whether his post violated neutrality standards. ABC News insiders expressed frustration over Moran's actions. Some said his post harmed the network's credibility, especially after recent efforts to rebuild relations with the Trump administration. Moran, 65, joined ABC in 1997 and served as co-anchor of Nightline and senior national correspondent. He had recently interviewed Trump in April 2025. While he deleted the post, Moran has not issued a public statement since his dismissal. The post Why ABC News Anchor Terry Moran Got Fired appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Panel held to discuss possible cuts to Medicaid
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Local health care workers and Democrats held a panel on Tuesday, June 10 discussing how Medicaid budget cuts could impact Colorado Springs. Data shows 19% of the 5th Congressional District, which covers most of El Paso County, are enrolled in Medicaid. Organizers of the panel said that number could drop if President Donald Trump signs his so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill.' The bill adds restrictions to who would be eligible for Medicaid, which Republicans argue would cut down on fraud. However, those at the panel on Tuesday disagree, arguing these cuts will impact services across the board. They said the only way to make sure your voice is heard is to speak up to the lawmakers who represent you. 'Call your representatives. There is somebody, they ain't going to answer the phone, but there is somebody who can answer the phone. Get out. Speak your mind. Talk to your neighbor. Find out what goes on,' said Leeann Webster with CA Home Health Care. The senate is currently debating the controversial bill. Both Colorado Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennett both indicated they will not vote in favor of the measure. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Five takeaways from New Jersey's primaries for governor: How the candidates are handling Trump and more
The matchup in New Jersey's race for governor is officially set — and Tuesday's primaries also laid down big indicators about the state of both political parties after the first major intraparty contests since the 2024 election. Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state legislator, easily won his party's primary with President Donald Trump's endorsement, underscoring Trump's significant sway over the GOP electorate. U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill won the crowded Democratic primary, pitching herself as the candidate with the best shot at holding on to the governorship and steering past ideological and antiestablishment sentiment simmering in her party. She defeated candidates who were to her left and to her right. The race to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, one of two governor's races this year, is expected to be competitive. Trump lost the state by 6 percentage points in November, a 10-point swing in his direction compared with his 2020 margin. Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's primaries: Sherrill won as many Democratic voters were weighing which candidate would be most electable and as each Democratic candidate pitched a different path forward for the party. Sherrill's victory suggests some Democratic voters want to dust off the party's successful playbook from the 2018 midterm elections, when she flipped a longtime Republican-held House seat. In that campaign and in her primary run this year, Sherrill stressed her background as a Navy helicopter pilot and a former federal prosecutor and pitched 'ruthless competence' as a counter to Trump. 'It just seems so obvious to me what the path forward is. It's effectively govern,' Sherrill recently told NBC News. 'And this is what I've been doing since 2018 when I first ran, right? ... I say to people, 'What's keeping you up at night?'' 'I tell people it's not maybe the sexiest tagline, but ruthless competence is what people in New Jersey want to see in government,' Sherrill added later. 'And that's what I've always provided, and that's what I think stands in stark contrast to the most incompetent federal government we've probably ever seen in this nation.' Still, while Sherrill won with over a third of the vote, the results revealed a fractured party. Two candidates who pitched themselves as more progressive, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, won a combined 36% of the vote. Two of the more moderate candidates, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney, got 20% combined, while teachers union president Sean Spiller won 10%. After having come just 3 percentage points shy of defeating Murphy in 2021, Ciattarelli made one thing clear in his bid four years later: He's all in on Trump. Like many prominent Republicans, Ciattarelli wasn't always on board — he criticized Trump as a 'charlatan' in 2015. And while he embraced Trump during his previous bid for governor, he didn't campaign with him. That led Ciattarelli's opponents, including his top competitor, former radio host Bill Spadea, to try to frame him as insufficiently loyal to Trump. (Spadea had voiced criticism of Trump before he fell back in line.) But Trump's endorsement of Ciattarelli cemented his front-runner status, helping hasten the end of the campaign. And in a nod to Ciattarelli's past criticism, Trump tried to inoculate him from any attempt to undercut his Trump bona fides. 'Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100% (PLUS!),' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing his backing. Tuesday's result suggests that Trump's seal of approval was good enough for most GOP primary voters. By late Tuesday evening, Ciattarelli was carrying all of the state's 21 counties. Ciattarelli's vote share was at 67% by late Tuesday evening, compared with just 22% for Spadea. State Sen. Jon Bramnick, who had been critical of Trump, had won just 6%, followed by two other candidates who had each won less than 3% of the vote. Ciattarelli thanked Trump in his victory speech for his 'endorsement and strong support,' making a joke about his being a 'part-time New Jersey resident.' (Trump owns a home and a golf course in Bedminster.) But Ciattarelli spent most of his speech focused on a general election argument, not on shoring up his base — indicative of the line he'll have to walk in a state Trump lost three times, even after the improvement he showed last year. Both parties are grappling with antiestablishment sentiment, wondering how to handle it, channel it or just avoid getting run over by it. But Tuesday's results were also a reminder that political institutions still have some staying power. New Jersey's traditional political machines were dealt a blow last year following a lawsuit from Democrat Andy Kim during his Senate run, when a court ordered that county parties could no longer give advantageous ballot positions to their preferred candidates. That diminished the sway those parties had Tuesday, but they still demonstrated some power. Ciattarelli was the only Republican who competed for county party endorsements. Fulop didn't compete for Democratic county party endorsements, and Gottheimer sat some out, as well. Some county parties split between the candidates, with Sherrill earning the most endorsements from 10 of the 21 counties. While Sherrill was carrying 15 of the state's 21 counties late Tuesday, Gottheimer was winning his home county, Bergen, which endorsed him. Sweeney, the only candidate from South Jersey, fared far better in the six counties that backed him. He was winning 40% of the vote in Gloucester County while garnering 7% of the statewide vote. The county party endorsements were no guarantee of victory: The Essex County Democrats, for example, endorsed Sherrill. But as of late Tuesday evening, she was trailing Baraka in Essex County, where he is mayor of Newark, the state's largest city. Even in that instance, though, the party endorsement may have helped Sherrill cut Baraka's margins in his home base. Tuesday night's victory speeches were also important table-setters, indicative of how each party is looking to frame the general election. And New Jersey's general election this year may foreshadow much of what we see on the campaign trail around the country in the 2026 midterms. Outside of a quick thanks to Trump, Ciattarelli kept his focus tightly on Sherrill and New Jersey Democrats in his victory speech. He criticized her as 'Phil Murphy 2.0,' arguing that she has 'enabled every extremist and costly idea Phil Murphy has put forth,' and he even revived a key criticism of Murphy from his 2021 campaign. He also criticized Sherrill's focus on Trump as a deflection. 'Mark my words: While we focus on these key New Jersey issues, my Democratic opponent will do everything in her power. Trust me ... if you took a shot every time Mikie Sherrill says 'Trump,' you'd be drunk off your ass every day between now and Nov. 4,' he said. 'But every time you hear her say 'Trump,' I want you to know what it really means: What it really means is Mikie doesn't have a plan to fix New Jersey,' he continued. During her victory speech, Sherrill leaned heavily on her biography but also emphasized a dual mandate — a fight against New Jersey Republicans and also against Trump, a recipe that Democrats have successfully leaned on in past midterm elections. Calling Ciattarelli a 'Trump lackey' who shouldn't lead the state, Sherrill criticized 'Trump and MAGA Republicans in D.C. [who] want to raise your taxes and take away your health care and education dollars.' 'This country is too beautiful to be beholden to the cruelty and self-interest that Jack and Trump are trying to hoist on her,' she said. 'The future is built on hard work and hope, and here in New Jersey, we're known for our grit, our tenacity — maybe a little bit for how loud we are — but it's going to take a strong voice to cut through the noise from Washington and deliver for the people,' she said. 'So I stand here tonight doing just that. And as a mom of four teenagers, you guys know I'm not going to put up with the incompetent, whiny nonsense coming from aggrieved MAGA Republicans.' Tuesday's results showed how money matters in campaigns — and how it has its limits. On the Democratic side, Sherrill won despite having been outspent by some of her opponents whose outside groups dropped millions of dollars on the race. The largest outside spender was Working New Jersey, a super PAC funded by the state's teachers union, which Spiller leads. The group had spent a whopping $35 million on the race as of May 27, according to the latest campaign finance reports, while Spiller's campaign had spent $342,000. As of late Tuesday, Spiller had about 10% of the primary vote. Gottheimer and Fulop were also boosted by outside groups that spent millions of dollars on the airwaves. (Gottheimer drained his congressional account to fund the outside group supporting him.) Sherrill got support on the airwaves from One Giant Leap PAC, which spent less than either Gottheimer's or Fulop's groups but spent most of its funds in the final weeks of the race. Ciattarelli and an aligned outside group, Kitchen Table Conservatives, outspent the other Republicans. And Ciattarelli touted his strong fundraising as proof that he would be a formidable general election candidate. This article was originally published on