Podcast host Joe Rogan criticized the Biden-Harris administration on Wednesday after revelations that former congresswoman and 2024 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard had been placed on a government watchlist and surveilled during air travel.
During an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Rogan discussed whistleblower reports from 2024 indicating that Gabbard was flagged under a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) surveillance program known as “Quiet Skies.”
The program, which operated under the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAM), was reportedly used to track travelers suspected of potential security threats.
Whistleblowers alleged that during the Biden-Harris administration, the program was expanded to include individuals with political or ideological ties deemed unfavorable by federal officials.
Gabbard, a U.S. Army Reserve officer and former Democratic representative from Hawaii, was allegedly among those targeted.
“She was a U.S. congresswoman for eight fucking years. She served overseas in a medical unit, right? So, she was deployed twice in a medical unit in the middle of the fucking war,” Rogan said.
“And you’re labeling her a terrorist? Whoever did that — whoever signed off on that — should be in fucking jail. That’s crazy. That’s such an abuse. That’s such an abuse of power. And you want to talk about going after your political enemies in a sick, third-world country way — that’s a great example of that.”
This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year
Rogan said Gabbard’s record made the alleged surveillance especially disturbing.
“You put a congresswoman for eight years on the terrorist watchlist — for what? For what reason? None? No reason?” he said.
“There’s not some crazy tweets where she’s made … She’s not even like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who gets hog wild sometimes. She’s not like that … Tulsi’s not like that at all. And you put her on a terrorist watchlist? Shame on you. Fucking shame on you.”
Gabbard spoke about her experience in a 2024 interview with journalist Matt Taibbi for Racket News, saying that she and her husband were subjected to invasive searches at airports during routine travel.
“It happened every time I boarded,” Gabbard said.
“I’ve got a couple of blazers in there, and they’re squeezing every inch of the entire collar, every inch of the sleeves, every inch of the edging of the blazers.
They’re squeezing or padding down underwear, bras, workout clothes, every inch of every piece of clothing.”
According to Taibbi’s reporting, the “Quiet Skies” program was expanded after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot to include monitoring of individuals who had participated in protests or were considered “potential domestic threats.”
President Donald Trump’s administration officially terminated the program in June.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the system had been abused to target political opponents rather than legitimate security threats.
“It is clear that the Quiet Skies program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration—weaponized against its political foes and exploited to benefit their well-heeled friends,” Noem said in a statement at the time.
The Department of Homeland Security and the TSA have not commented publicly on the whistleblower claims.
Congressional Republicans have since called for hearings into the program’s expansion and its alleged use to surveil U.S. citizens without cause.
Rogan, who has previously interviewed Gabbard on his show, described her as one of the few politicians willing to criticize both major parties and said the targeting of such a figure illustrated “a dangerous precedent” for political retaliation through government agencies.
Gabbard, who served in Congress from 2013 to 2021 and ran for president in 2020 as a Democrat before later leaving the party, has not ruled out future political ambitions.
She has since become an outspoken critic of government surveillance and political weaponization of federal law enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s Office has not confirmed whether an investigation into the alleged misuse of the “Quiet Skies” program is underway.
The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of LifeZette. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.
