Senator Rand Paul, like his father and fellow medical doctor former Congressman Dr Ron Paul, knows there’s good reason to cast a leary eye toward leftists and the permanent government bureaucracies.
But he just left Trump insiders stunned when he revealed documents confirming his worst suspicions.
Because the Kentucky doctor declared he now has proof exposing one government operation that will shock Trump’s top intelligence official.
the previous administration did to one of their critics.
Kentucky Senator declares he’s found proof of federal agents tracking and monitoring Trump supporter
Senator Rand Paul dropped a bombshell revelation Tuesday that left Washington insiders stunned about how far the previous administration went to target its political opponents.
The Kentucky Senator revealed he has obtained official documents confirming that the Biden administration placed Trump’s Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on a secret surveillance list reserved for suspected terrorists.
“Just last night, I received the first set of records from the department (Homeland Security) regarding Tulsi Gabbard’s placement on the TSA Quiet Skies watchlist,” Paul stated during a Capitol Hill hearing where Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was testifying about her department’s budget request.
Paul’s words hit like a sledgehammer for many Americans as he detailed what the documents revealed about government agents’ spying on Gabbard, even while she was a private citizen.
“[N]ot an isolated case”: Sen. Paul confirms Biden admin. secretly surveilled Tulsi Gabbard’s domestic travel
“These documents confirm our suspicions. Federal air marshals surveilled the now-director of national intelligence during domestic flights in 2024, reporting back information related to her appearance and even how many electronics she was observed using,” he continued. “Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case.”
The Biden TSA tailed Tulsi Gabbard on domestic flights—treating a former Member of Congress like a terror suspect.
I appreciate @Sec_Noem for taking this seriously. Now let’s end these abuses and get our civil liberties back. pic.twitter.com/OzrZhjNSSv
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) May 20, 2025
The shocking revelation came during Secretary Noem’s testimony about her department’s budget request for fiscal year 2026. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which operates the controversial Quiet Skies program, falls under the Department of Homeland Security’s jurisdiction.
What is the “Quiet Skies” watchlist?
The TSA watchlist program allows federal air marshals to follow American citizens on domestic flights and collect information on their behavior. The program was ostensibly created to identify potential terrorist threats, but Paul’s revelation raises serious questions about whether the Biden administration abused this power to monitor political opponents.
Reports about Gabbard being on the watchlist first emerged in November last year, shortly after Trump’s election victory and his nomination of Gabbard to lead the intelligence community. At that time, several news outlets reported she had been “briefly” put on and then removed from the list.
Paul’s disclosure on Tuesday appears to confirm these earlier reports with official documentation backing up the claims. The timeline suggests Gabbard was under surveillance during the 2024 election cycle while she was speaking out against Biden administration policies.
Gabbard responds to the revelations
Following Paul’s statements, Gabbard took to social media to address the surveillance revelations directly.
“Under the flimsy guise of ‘domestic terrorism,’ federal law enforcement and intelligence were repeatedly weaponized against me and other Americans who exercised our First Amendment rights in speaking out against the Biden administration’s policies and therefore deemed a threat to their power,” Gabbard posted on X.
As the current Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard now oversees the very type of surveillance operations that were used against her. She pledged to address these abuses in her current role.
“As DNI, I am focused every day on ending the weaponization and politicization of the intelligence community that has resulted in undermining our God-given freedoms and civil liberties,” she continued. “I’m grateful for Senator Paul’s leadership on this issue and look forward to working with him and others in Congress to ensure the safety, security AND freedom of the American people.”
Under the flimsy guise of “domestic terrorism,” Federal law enforcement and intelligence were repeatedly weaponized against me and other Americans who exercised our First Amendment rights in speaking out against the Biden Administration’s policies and therefore deemed a threat to… https://t.co/vKuMwMGUVo
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) May 20, 2025
Pattern of surveillance against critics
The revelation adds to growing concerns about how federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies may have been used during the Biden administration to target political opponents.
Senator Paul’s statement that this is “not an isolated case” suggests there could be more revelations to come about other individuals who were placed on surveillance lists for political reasons rather than genuine security concerns.
The Quiet Skies program itself has faced criticism from civil liberties advocates since its existence became public knowledge. The program allows air marshals to track passengers who aren’t on terrorist watchlists and haven’t been accused of any crime, raising serious Fourth Amendment concerns.
While the program was created to identify potential security threats, Paul’s revelation raises the troubling possibility that it was repurposed as a tool for political surveillance.
What happens next?
Under Joe Biden, the DHS grew into an unwieldy bureaucracy rife with unaccountable power and wasteful spending.@SecNoem & @POTUS are working hard to end government sponsored censorship, reverse the obstruction of the last admin, and push back on efforts to delay, redact, and…
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) May 20, 2025
With Republicans now controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, oversight hearings focusing on potential abuses by the previous administration are likely to increase.
Paul’s disclosure came during a budget hearing, suggesting that funding for agencies involved in questionable surveillance activities could face additional scrutiny as the appropriations process moves forward.
For her part, Gabbard now finds herself in the unique position of overseeing reforms to the very intelligence community that once surveilled her. Her personal experience with government overreach may inform her approach to balancing national security needs with constitutional protections.
