DHS Unearths TSA Corruption: Sitting US Senator’s Husband Received Blanket Exemption from National Security Review After Traveling with Known or Suspected Terrorist

New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s Husband Traveled with a Known or Suspected Terrorist Three Times in A Single Year

WASHINGTON —Today, the Department of Homeland Security revealed evidence detailing the politicization of TSA’s watchlisting program under the Biden administration. Discovered documents, correspondence, and timelines clearly highlight the Biden’s inconsistent application of Silent Partners Quiet Skies and watchlisting programs, circumventing security policies to benefit politically aligned friends and family at the expense of the American people.

This includes William “Billy” Shaheen, spouse of fellow democrat and sitting U.S. New Hampshire Senator, Jeanne Shaheen, while surveilling political opponents like Tulsi Gabbard months after.

After Senator Shaheen directly lobbied the former Administrator, Pekoske gave repeated, explicit direction to exclude Shaheen from the Silent Partner Quiet Skies list. Pekoske granted Billy Shaheen a blanket Silent Partners Quiet Skies exemption despite Shaheen flying with a Known or Suspected Terrorist on three occasions.

All the while, Tulsi Gabbard, and many other Americans, were placed on the Silent Partners’ Quiet Skies list with little to no visibility, awareness, explanation, or oversight.

Billy Shaheen was hardly the only high-profile individual that was placed on this exclusion list. This list also included members of foreign royal families, political elites, professional athletes, and journalists. Shaheen’s blanket exemption has since been revoked.

“It is clear that this program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration—weaponized against its political foes and to benefit their well-heeled friends,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “This program should have been about the equal application of security, instead it was corrupted to be about political targeting. The Trump Administration will restore the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans, including aviation screening.”

For far too long, this program has yielded little to no measurable security impact and lay at the expense of the American traveler.

A timeline of events:

• 07/20/2023: William “Billy” Shaheen was a TSA Random Selectee on his flights from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS, Flight #1) to Washington-Reagan International Airport (DCA) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) to BOS (Flight #2). Billy Shaheen was flagged for the first time as Co-Traveler with a Known or Suspected Terrorist (KST).
   
• Shortly after Billy Shaheen’s travel, Senator Shaheen’s office made an inquiry to TSA about the Senator’s husband receiving enhanced screening on these two flights.
   
• 10/18/2023: Shaheen was flagged a second time as a Co-Traveler of a KST.
   
• It was after this flight that Senator Shaheen made a second inquiry to TSA, via a meeting with then Administrator Pekoske, about her husband being on a watchlist. TSA did not disclose any information on watchlisting.
   
• 10/20/2023: Shaheen was then approved by then Assistant Administrator for Intelligence and Analysis Nykamp (she departed TSA in March 2025), acting on then TSA Administrator Pekoske’s Authority, to be added to the Secure Flight Exclusion List.
   
• This means that Shaheen was excluded from any future TSA Random Selectee designation, and Rules-based Selectee designation, such as Quiet Skies, Association Based Rule Selectee designation, or Silent Partner Selectee designation.
   
• 10/24/2023: TSA Legislative Affairs communicates with then Assistant Administrator for Intelligence and Analysis Nykamp, and refers to the action taken by Nykamp and/or Pekoske to add Shaheen to the Secure Flight Exclusion List.
   
• Follow on communication provide instructions to TSA Security Operations to ensure the exclusion is accurately captured in the passenger’s boarding pass status.
   
• Billy Shaheen stayed on the Secure Flight Exclusion List for 18 months until current TSA leadership removed him.

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