The Trump administration has closed a controversial program that used undercover US air marshals on flights to surveil passengers, and removed a government official who took responsibility for putting Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in it.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem called for an investigation into the program as she announced its closure on Thursday. DHS said the program cost taxpayers $200 million a year and "failed to stop a single terrorist attack."

In a recent meeting, administration officials confronted leadership at the Transportation Security Administration over what they said was a politically motivated use of the Quiet Skies program under the Biden administration, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting The Wall Street Journal.

"The clash over Quiet Skies, a program that has long been a cause for concern for civil liberties advocates, is the latest example of the Trump administration accusing career officials of political weaponisation," it noted.

What is Quiet Skies?

Originally launched under the Obama administration in 2010, the 'Quiet Skies' surveillance program recently became the focus of criticism from conservative circles. Accusations surfaced that the Biden administration had weaponised the program to target political opponents, including Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and current Director of National Intelligence.

In mid-2024, while Gabbard was actively campaigning for Donald Trump’s presidential bid, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) briefly placed both her and her husband, Abraham Williams, under surveillance through the Quiet Skies initiative. The decision reportedly stemmed from Gabbard’s participation in a Vatican event earlier that year, hosted by a European businessman who, at the time, was on an FBI watch list. The reasons behind his inclusion on the list remain unclear, and it is still unknown whether his listing was an error.

Following her placement in the program, Gabbard emerged as one of its most vocal critics.

The program’s existence was first uncovered by the Boston Globe in 2018. Undercover US air marshals travel on flights with individuals included in the program.

Quiet Skies works to identify travellers who could present an elevated risk to aviation security. The program employs analysts and undercover air marshals to monitor people in airports and during flights, using outstanding warrants, facial recognition software, identification of suspicious travel patterns and behaviours and other data to try to prevent terrorist attacks. (With inputs from IANS)