🔗 Share this article

A number of major international airports across the US, including Phoenix's Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle–Tacoma, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, have decided to prevent a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that attributes responsibility to Democrats for the current federal government shutdown from being shown at their checkpoint areas.

Regulatory Issues Raised by Aviation Authorities

Airport authorities in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Charlotte, and Westchester, New York have declined to show the video content at security checkpoints, stating that the overtly political messaging could contravene state and federal law, such as the Hatch Act of 1939, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan actions.

“Congressional Democrats refuse to finance the federal government, and as a result, many of our operations are disrupted, and most of our TSA employees are unpaid,” Noem said in the video.

The Port of Portland Response

The Port of Portland noted that it “did not consent to airing the PSA in its current form, as we consider the federal law explicitly forbids use of public assets for partisan messaging.” It added that Oregon law prohibits government staff from promoting or opposing any party affiliation and that agreeing to play this content would violate state law.

Las Vegas Statement

The Harry Reid International Airport also declined to show the security announcement on similar grounds, saying in a release that “the video's message contained political messaging that was inconsistent with the neutral, informational purpose of the public service announcements usually displayed at security checkpoints” and also cited the Hatch Act.

Understanding the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act of 1939 is a federal law that bans political activities by government employees to ensure that government programs stay impartial.

Additional Airport Responses

• Phoenix Sky Harbor international airport explained that it “declined to post the PSA” to remain “consistent with airport policy,” which prohibits partisan material.
• The Seattle port authority, which operates Sea-Tac airport, similarly declined, citing “the partisan tone of the video.”
• Charlotte airport clarified that state municipal law and the airport's rules for digital content “do not allow the referenced video.” The airport also added that the TSA lacks ownership of any monitors at its checkpoints and that its limited display monitors are reserved for wayfinding, travel information, and revenue-generating services.

Westchester County Objection

The county, in a public comment, called the video “inappropriate, improper, and out of line with the values we anticipate from our nation’s top public officials.”

“The public service announcement politicizes the impacts of a federal government shutdown on TSA operations,” the county executive stated, noting that the message was “overly alarming” and “erodes customer confidence.”

DHS Response

A DHS assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, echoed Noem’s language to attribute fault to “partisan tactics” in a statement, stating that “Democrats will shortly realize the importance of reopening the federal government.”

Cross-Party Appeals for Resolution

The Port of Seattle said that it continued to “urge cooperative actions to end the government shutdown” and was striving to identify ways to assist federal employees unpaid during the shutdown.