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Several prominent international airports across the America, including Phoenix's Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International, and Charlotte Douglas in North Carolina, have decided to prevent a video from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that faults Democrats for the continuing federal government shutdown from playing at their screening locations.

Legal Concerns Cited by Airport Authorities

Airport officials in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Westchester, New York have refused to show the video content at screening areas, stating that the overtly political messaging could breach federal and state regulations, such as the Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from engaging in political campaigning.

“Congressional Democrats decline to finance the U.S. government, and because of this, many of our activities are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are unpaid,” the Secretary stated in the video.

Portland Response

The Port of Portland explained that it “would not agree to playing the PSA in its present version, as we believe the federal law clearly prohibits use of public assets for partisan messaging.” It added that Oregon law bars public employees from supporting or criticizing any political party and that consenting to broadcast this content would violate Oregon law.

Las Vegas Position

The Harry Reid International Airport also declined to show the TSA video on similar grounds, stating in a statement that “its content included partisan statements that did not align with the impartial, informational nature of the PSAs usually shown at checkpoint screens” and also cited the Hatch Act.

Understanding the Hatch Act Regulations

The Hatch Act is a U.S. law that prohibits political activities by government employees to guarantee that government programs remain unbiased.

Further Authority Rejections

• Phoenix Sky Harbor international airport stated that it “refused to display the video” to remain “in line with airport policy,” which does not allow partisan material.
• The Port of Seattle, which manages Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, similarly refused, citing “the partisan tone of the video.”
• Charlotte airport said that North Carolina municipal law and the airport's rules for screen content “do not permit the video in question.” The airport also noted that the TSA does not own any screens at its security areas and that its limited display monitors are reserved for directions, travel information, and paid advertisements.

Westchester Criticism

The county, in a public comment, called the PSA “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our federal leaders.”

“The public service announcement politicizes the effects of a government closure on security operations,” the county executive said, noting that the tone was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “erodes customer confidence.”

Homeland Security Response

A DHS official, Tricia McLaughlin, echoed the Secretary's wording to attribute fault to “political gamesmanship” in a statement, stating that “Democratic leaders will shortly realize the importance of reopening the government.”

Bipartisan Calls for Resolution

The Seattle authority commented that it continued to “encourage cooperative actions to resolve the government shutdown” and was working to identify methods to assist federal employees unpaid during the shutdown.