Department of Homeland Security employees say they are undergoing an increasing number of polygraph exams under Secretary Kristi Noem’s direction to determine if they are being disloyal and leaking information to the media.

Intelligence agencies such as the DHS have used polygraph exams for years while working on job applications, security clearances and some investigations.

However, the exams under Noem are used to determine whether employees are releasing information deemed disloyal or embarrassing, according to current and former officials, adding that what they are being asked about is not classified information, reports The Wall Street Journal Wednesday.

The exams are given by agents within the Transportation Security Administration’s polygraph program. The TSA is more commonly known for airport screenings, but the agents in the polygraph program, under previous administrations, worked on administrative or criminal investigations.

The Wall Street Journal’s sources, who were not identified, said that several immigration agency employees, as well as people in the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been asked to take polygraphs.

The employees range from agency leadership staffers to media office employees who are suspected of sharing unapproved information with reporters.

Current and former DHS employees, who have worked under administrations for both parties, say they haven’t seen polygraphing used at nearly the scale Noem has directed.

Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokeswoman, said that under Noem, the department is “unapologetic about its efforts to root out leakers that undermine national security.”

“We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant — we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” she said.

McLaughlin would not say how many DHS employees have undergone polygraph tests since President Donald Trump took office in January.

Noem told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” in March, when asked if she was going to keep testing her employees, responded that her authorities as DHS secretary are “broad and extensive.”

“I plan to use every single one of them to make sure that we’re following the law, that we are following the procedures in place to keep people safe, and that we’re making sure we’re following through on what President Trump has promised,” Noem said.

McLaughlin denied that the tests are “about disloyalty.”

“Information doesn’t have to be classified to be confidential or not for public consumption,” she said.

The employees, though, commented that it is not clear who will be selected for the tests or why, and some are calling the polygraphs a fishing expedition.

Government Accountability Project legal director Tom Devine said that his group plans to share “Know Your Rights” fliers with federal employees to challenge the polygraph practice.

He also said that he believes the use of polygraphs violates federal laws that protect whistleblowers.

People familiar with the issue said some employees have been placed on administrative leave after being polygraphed, while others resigned rather than take the exams.

Recently ousted FEMA acting director Cameron Hamilton was given a polygraph exam after information was leaked to media outlets about a meeting with Noem and her top adviser, Corey Lewandowski, about efforts to shutter the agency.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also polygraphed employees for their contacts with the media during the Justice Department’s crackdown on leaks, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also threatened to polygraph senior military leaders, but it is not clear if the Pentagon followed through, according to close sources.

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