A senior U.S. senator is demanding the Transportation Security Administration immediately reverse its policy allowing air travellers to keep their shoes on during airport security screening, citing a classified government audit that found the change has created dangerous gaps in threat detection.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), who serves as ranking member of the Senate subcommittee overseeing aviation, sent a letter to acting TSA Administrator Nguyen McNeill on April 3 calling on the agency to rescind what she described as a "reckless and dangerous" directive that may be placing the flying public at risk.
The letter, obtained exclusively by CBS News, states that the policy was likely implemented "without meaningful consultation with TSA" and references an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog that identified a significant new vulnerability in airport screening systems.
Classified Audit Buried, Senator Says
According to previous reporting by CBS News, a classified inspector general audit — conducted using covert "red team" testing — found that TSA body scanners are unable to effectively screen footwear, raising concerns that prohibited or dangerous items could pass through checkpoints undetected. Duckworth's letter alleges those findings were suppressed by DHS leadership rather than acted upon.
The watchdog reportedly escalated its concerns through a rare "Seven-Day Letter" to then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a mechanism reserved for urgent security matters. Despite receiving that urgent notification, no corrective action was taken, according to Duckworth.
"Allowing a potentially catastrophic security deficiency to remain in place for seven months and counting betrays TSA's mission," Duckworth wrote. "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."
Possible Violation of Federal Law
Duckworth also argued in her letter that TSA's inaction may constitute a violation of federal law. She noted the agency missed a legally mandated 90-day deadline to outline corrective steps following receipt of the watchdog's findings — a lapse she says undermines both congressional oversight and passenger safety.
"Such inaction violates Federal law, Office of Management and Budget guidance and DHS's own directives," she wrote.
Policy Dates Back to 2025
The requirement for passengers to remove shoes at security checkpoints was introduced in the years following the December 2001 "shoe bomber" incident, in which a passenger attempted to detonate explosives concealed in his footwear aboard a transatlantic flight bound for the United States.
DHS quietly reversed that two-decade-old rule on July 8, 2025, under Secretary Noem, framing the change as a measure to improve the traveller experience and reduce checkpoint wait times. The department stated at the time that "cutting-edge technological advancements and a multi-layered security approach" meant the change would not compromise security standards.
However, CBS News' ongoing reporting indicates the agency has yet to formally respond to the inspector general's findings, leaving recommended security fixes "open and unresolved" — raising broader questions about whether known vulnerabilities are being addressed by current DHS leadership.
Duckworth's letter marks the first direct call from a sitting U.S. lawmaker to reverse the shoes-on policy.
Source: CBS News. This article is based on reporting originally published by CBS News.