{"id":2443919,"date":"2025-06-06T13:10:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T17:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-quiet-skies-was-abuse-so-is-the-rest-of-surveillance-state\/"},"modified":"2025-06-06T13:11:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T17:11:19","slug":"if-quiet-skies-was-abuse-so-is-the-rest-of-surveillance-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-quiet-skies-was-abuse-so-is-the-rest-of-surveillance-state\/","title":{"rendered":"If &#8216;Quiet Skies&#8217; Was Abuse, So Is The Rest Of Surveillance State"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fif-quiet-skies-was-abuse-so-is-the-rest-of-surveillance-state%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2443919&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the recent dismantling of the &#8220;Quiet Skies&#8221; surveillance program, announced by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi noem. This program, initiated in 2010, aimed to identify domestic travelers who might pose a threat, but has been criticized for targeting American citizens, including political opponents, without valid evidence.Noem highlighted that the program failed to prevent any terrorist attacks and cost taxpayers $200 million annually.<\/p>\n<p>The author argues that the termination of this program is merely a first step,calling for a broader dismantling of the entire surveillance regime that emerged after the 9\/11 attacks. The article references other surveillance programs, like PRISM, which allegedly violate constitutional rights by allowing government agencies to collect citizens&#8217; data without warrants. The author concludes by urging Congress to investigate and address the pervasive surveillance state that undermines citizen rights and national security.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/gageskidmore\/48011616441\">  Gage Skidmore\/ Flickr <\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/\">CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>        <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/06\/if-quiet-skies-surveillance-was-abuse-so-is-the-rest-of-the-surveillance-state\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=If%20%E2%80%98Quiet%20Skies%E2%80%99%20Surveillance%20Was%20Abuse,%20So%20Is%20The%20Rest%20Of%20The%20Surveillance%20State&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/06\/if-quiet-skies-surveillance-was-abuse-so-is-the-rest-of-the-surveillance-state\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=If%20%E2%80%98Quiet%20Skies%E2%80%99%20Surveillance%20Was%20Abuse,%20So%20Is%20The%20Rest%20Of%20The%20Surveillance%20State&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/06\/if-quiet-skies-surveillance-was-abuse-so-is-the-rest-of-the-surveillance-state\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/06\/if-quiet-skies-surveillance-was-abuse-so-is-the-rest-of-the-surveillance-state\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=If%20%E2%80%98Quiet%20Skies%E2%80%99%20Surveillance%20Was%20Abuse,%20So%20Is%20The%20Rest%20Of%20The%20Surveillance%20State&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/06\/if-quiet-skies-surveillance-was-abuse-so-is-the-rest-of-the-surveillance-state\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday that the &ldquo;Quiet Skies&rdquo; surveillance program was dismantled. It&rsquo;s a good first step &mdash; but it&rsquo;s just that: a first step. It&rsquo;s time to dismantle the entire surveillance regime that grew out of post 9\/11 panic.<\/p>\n<p>The &ldquo;Quiet Skies Program&rdquo; was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2018\/07\/30\/634087400\/former-tsa-administrator-discusses-quiet-skies-surveillance-program#:~:text=Under%20a%20program%20called%20Quiet,Is%20it%20legal?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">launched<\/a> in 2010 with the goal of identifying potential threats among domestic air travelers who might not be on the terror watchlist but who <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >supposedly exhibited suspicious behavior<\/a>. In reality, it became another tool to monitor American citizens.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-134527899\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But as Noem said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/news\/2025\/06\/05\/secretary-noem-ends-politicized-tsa-watchlist-program-has-failed-prevent-single\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release<\/a> Thursday, the program &ldquo;has failed to stop a single terrorist attack while costing US taxpayers $200 million a year.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Worse still, the program has been used to target political opponents, like Director of National Intelligence <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/30\/gabbards-senate-critics-are-more-interested-in-protecting-americas-spy-agencies-than-fixing-them\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tulsi Gabbard<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/22\/rand-paul-presses-tsa-over-weaponization-of-terror-watchlists-to-spy-on-political-dissidents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gabbard<\/a>, a vocal critic of America&rsquo;s intelligence agencies, was allegedly targeted by the U.S. Federal Air Marshals Service (FAMS), according to a whistleblower complaint shared by the non-profit watchdog group Empower Oversight. The complaint alleged that Gabbard was placed under federal surveillance by the FAMS Quiet Skies program &ldquo;one day after she criticized the Biden administration in an interview with Laura Ingraham,&rdquo; as <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/07\/watchdog-demands-dhs-inspector-general-investigate-new-abuses-of-surveillance-state\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> by Tristan Justice.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Air Marshals were assigned to their first flight with Ms. Gabbard on July 25, 2024,&rdquo; Empower Oversight reported. &ldquo;Absent any significant evidence that Ms. Gabbard actually poses a significant threat, this is a gross waste of taxpayer resources and an abuse of TSA&rsquo;s authority.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Noem is also calling for an investigation into the program. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is clear that the Quiet Skies program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration &mdash; weaponized against its political foes and exploited to benefit their well-heeled friends,&rdquo; Noem said. &ldquo;I am calling for a Congressional investigation to unearth further corruption at the expense of the American people and undermining of US national security.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But while they&rsquo;re at it, Congress and the Trump administration must reckon with the broader surveillance state. <\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist&rsquo;s co-founder and CEO Sean Davis <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/09\/11\/was-9-11-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-american-empire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote in these pages<\/a>, &ldquo;The government response to 9\/11 birthed the constitutional abomination that is the modern warrantless surveillance state. The Patriot Act enabled the government to weaponize its vast resources against its own people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Then there is the PRISM program, which was revealed by Edward Snowden. The PRISM program is a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gabbards-critics-arent-interested-in-fixing-us-spy-agencies\/\" title=\"...&#039;s Critics Aren&#039;t Interested In Fixing US Spy Agencies\">constitutionally dubious surveillance program<\/a> under which the National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Central Intelligence Agency gather and search through emails, internet calls, photos, and chats of Americans without obtaining a warrant, usually through the backdoor of America&rsquo;s major tech companies,&rdquo; as explained in these pages by <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/02\/17\/the-cia-got-caught-spying-on-americans-again-its-time-for-congress-to-make-them-stop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rachel Bovard<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>While Congress passed the USA Freedom Act in 2015 to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance act (FISA) to ban some collection of American data, the CIA nonetheless was caught spying on Americans again. Notably, the feds later used FISA to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/19\/americans-cant-trust-mike-rogers-to-give-the-fbi-the-reckoning-it-needs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">spy<\/a> on President Donald Trump&rsquo;s 2016 campaign. <\/p>\n<p>There was also the revelation that the NSA was conducting massive surveillance under Executive Order 12333. As described by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogo.org\/analysis\/executive-order-12333-the-spy-power-too-big-for-any-legal-limits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Project on Government Oversight<\/a> (POGO), this order allows the government &ldquo;to vacuum up billions of emails, texts, and calls from people across the globe, grabbing Americans&rsquo; sensitive communications in the process.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The fundamental problem with EO 12333 is that it is a virtually lawless surveillance authority,&rdquo; POGO explains, adding that it operates &ldquo;absent any limits or oversight from Congress and the courts.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Quiet Skies program is not an aberration &mdash; it&rsquo;s the rule. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-biden-admin-considering-using-private-firms-to-conduct-warrantless-surveillance-of-u-s-citizens\/\" title=\"CNN: Biden Admin Considering Using Private Firms To Conduct Warrantless Surveillance Of U.S. Citizens\">national security state<\/a> has grown unaccountably large and increasingly willing to turn its tools inward on the American people. It&rsquo;s not enough to shut down one failed program &mdash; Republicans must go further and dismantle the entire surveillance state.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/911\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">9\/11<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-homeland-security\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Homeland Security<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/fisa\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">FISA<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/kristi-noem\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Kristi Noem<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/national-security\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">national security<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/patriot-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Patriot Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/prism\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Prism<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/surveillance-state\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">surveillance state<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/tulsi-gabbard\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Tulsi Gabbard<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the dismantling of the &#8220;Quiet Skies&#8221; surveillance program, marking a positive initial move<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2443920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/48011616441_725e9870d1_k-e1749226377116.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6599,38845,4325,56681,14429],"class_list":["post-2443919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-abuse","tag-civil-liberties","tag-privacy","tag-quiet-skies","tag-surveillance"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/48011616441_725e9870d1_k-e1749226377116.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2443919"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2443923,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443919\/revisions\/2443923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2443920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2443919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2443919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2443919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}