A key senator is demanding the Transportation Security Administration reverse its decision to let travelers keep their shoes on their feet while passing through airport screening, a controversial policy at the center of a classified security warning — escalating pressure on the agency following months of scrutiny over airport security vulnerabilities.
In a letter obtained exclusively by CBS News, Sen. Tammy Duckworth demanded that TSA immediately rescind its “shoes-on” policy, calling it a “reckless act” that may be placing the flying public at risk.
The Illinois Democrat, who serves as ranking member of the Senate subcommittee overseeing aviation, warned that the policy was likely implemented “without meaningful consultation with TSA.” She cited an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog that found it created a new security vulnerability in airport screening systems.
An “outrageous” danger to the flying public
Duckworth’s demand marks the first direct call from a lawmaker to reverse the policy, following CBS News’ reporting on a classified inspector general audit that used covert “red team” testing to identify serious vulnerabilities in TSA screening nationwide.
The classified watchdog report found that TSA scanners are unable to effectively screen shoes, raising concerns that threat items could evade detection. But those findings were buried by DHS leadership, according to previous reporting by CBS News.
Duckworth writes that the inspector general flagged the issue as urgent in a rare “Seven-Day Letter” to then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — but no corrective action was taken.
She called that failure “outrageous, unacceptable and dangerous to the flying public.”
“Allowing a potentially catastrophic security deficiency to remain in place for seven months and counting betrays TSA’s mission,” wrote Duckworth. “At a minimum, TSA’s failure to swiftly implement corrective action warrants the immediate withdrawal of Secretary Noem’s reckless and dangerous policy that increases the risk of a terrorist smuggling a dangerous item onto a flight.”
Did the TSA violate federal law?
In her letter to acting TSA Administrator Nguyen McNeill, dated April 3, the Illinois senator argues that TSA’s lack of response may actually violate federal law. She wrote that the agency missed a legally required 90-day deadline to outline corrective actions after receiving the watchdog’s findings — a lapse she says undermines both oversight and safety.
“Such inaction violates Federal law, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance and DHS’s own directives,” Duckworth wrote.
A policy dating back to the “Shoe Bomber” plot
The rule requiring passengers to remove shoes was implemented several years after the 2001 “shoe bomber” plot, when a passenger attempted to detonate explosives hidden in his footwear aboard a U.S.-bound flight.
DHS lifted that rule and implemented a “shoes-on” policy on July 8, 2025, under Noem.
At the time, the agency said the move would “increase hospitality for travelers and streamline the TSA security checkpoint process, leading to lower wait times.” DHS argued the decision would not impact security standards due to “our cutting-edge technological advancements and multi-layered security approach.”
CBS News’ reporting found the agency has yet to issue a required response to the inspector general’s findings months later, leaving recommended fixes “open and unresolved” and raising broader questions about whether known security gaps are being addressed.
Duckworth argues that abandoning that safeguard without ensuring screening technology can compensate introduces a known vulnerability back into the system.
The letter also takes direct aim at Noem, who left her role last month and was replaced by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, accusing her of prioritizing politics over security. Duckworth wrote that Noem’s decision reflected a “willingness to gamble the American people’s security” and calls it a “stunning failure of leadership.”
CBS News has reached out to DHS and TSA for comment.
