Congressman targeted by Biden TSA wants law to end ‘weaponization’ against conservatives

Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., said the Biden administration abused federal security agencies to politically target him during his campaign, revealing in a new interview that he was flagged by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) during his 2022 campaign for Arizona Attorney General while involved in an ongoing election-related lawsuit.

Hamadeh told the Just the News Not Noise television program that he was notified by Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul’s office earlier this week that he had been placed on a federal air travel watchlist in late 2022, which he believes was politically motivated. 

Hamadeh: “This wasn’t just a bureaucratic fluke”

Hamadeh said he and two other Republicans were singled out by the “Biden TSA” as part of a broader pattern of surveillance and targeting of conservative figures.“This wasn’t just a bureaucratic fluke,” Hamadeh said. “This was a deliberate abuse of federal power — placing candidates on watchlists, monitoring their travel, treating them like national security threats — all for daring to challenge the administration’s narrative.”

Hamadeh, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer, said the timing of the “terrifying” TSA monitoring came weeks after a contested election in which he was actively involved in legal challenges. He added that media and Democratic leaders were describing him at the time as a “threat to democracy.”

The Arizona lawmaker said the situation is evidence of the “weaponization” of federal agencies during the Biden administration, naming other examples such as the alleged FBI surveillance of parents at school board meetings, Catholics attending mass, and individuals opposing pandemic-era mask mandates.

Hamadeh, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, lauded Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for terminating the TSA’s “Quiet Skies” monitoring program, calling it a necessary step in restoring public trust. He credited Sen. Paul for making light of the program and said that Congress would take further action to make sure the same situation never occurs again.

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