A classified Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report has concluded that the decision by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to scrap the long‑standing rule requiring passengers to remove their shoes at airport security checkpoints resulted in serious security gaps. This is because many Transportation Security Administration (TSA) scanners are not capable of detecting threats in footwear.
According to the inspector general's letter to Congress, shared by The Daily Beast, Noem's office was alerted to the problem in August last year. However, she did not take public or substantive corrective action and instead reclassified the findings, despite the law requiring the department to address the issue by Jan. 30.
