Sen Duckworth demands TSA bring back shoes-off airport security policy
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Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is demanding that the Transportation Security Administration reinstate its controversial policy requiring travelers to remove their shoes before passing through airport security checkpoints.
Duckworth called on TSA to immediately reverse its move to end its “shoes off” policy, calling former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to rescind the policy last summer a “reckless action” that could put travelers at risk.
“Secretary Noem’s decision to implement policy on July 8, 2025, likely without meaningful consultation with TSA, was a reckless action,” Duckworth wrote in a letter to TSA Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill.
“To allow a potentially devastating security failure to continue for seven months and count it is a betrayal of TSA’s mission,” he added. “At the very least, TSA’s failure to quickly implement corrective action warrants an immediate reversal of Secretary Noem’s reckless and dangerous policy that increases the risk of a terrorist smuggling a dangerous substance onto a plane.”
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Senator Tammy Duckworth demanded that the TSA reinstate its policy requiring travelers to remove their shoes when passing through security checkpoints at airports. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
This comes after an undercover watchdog report found that TSA scanners were unable to effectively scan shoes, according to CBS News. Duckworth said the inspector general flagged the matter as urgent for Noem, but no action was taken.
Duckworth said the inspector general found that Noem’s policy change “inadvertently created a new vulnerability in the system.”
Duckworth said the former secretary’s failure to take corrective action after the report’s findings was “outrageous, unacceptable and dangerous to the flying public.”
The senator argues that TSA’s failure to respond could violate federal law and writes that the agency missed a legally required 90-day window to outline corrective actions after receiving the watchdog’s report.
“Such inaction violates federal law, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines, and DHS’s own directives,” Duckworth wrote.
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Sen. Tammy Duckworth called former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision last summer to rescind the policy a “reckless act” that could put travelers at risk. (Rebecca Blackwell / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
The previous policy requiring travelers to remove their shoes during TSA screening was implemented in 2006.
The senator wrote that Noem’s policy change reflected a “willingness to gamble with the security of the American people” and called it a “staggering failure of leadership.”
“We expect this change to significantly reduce passenger wait times at our TSA checkpoints, leading to a more enjoyable and efficient passenger experience,” he said at the time. “As always, security remains our top priority. Thanks to the latest technological advances and our multi-layered security approach, we are confident that we can implement this change while maintaining the highest security standards.”
Duckworth accused Noem, who was fired by President Donald Trump last month and replaced by current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, of prioritizing politics over security.
The previous policy requiring travelers to remove their shoes to undergo TSA screening was implemented in 2006. (iStock)
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The senator wrote that Noem’s policy change reflected a “willingness to gamble with the security of the American people” and called it a “staggering failure of leadership.”
“Secretary Noem’s willingness to gamble with the security of the American people to increase her popularity was and remains a stunning failure of leadership, especially in the wake of President Trump’s decision to launch an unconstitutional war against Iran, which DHS has determined “has resulted in an increased threat environment in the United States.” he wrote.
