Several major international US airports, including Phoenix Sky Harbor , Harry Reid international in Las Vegas, Seattle–Tacoma and Charlotte Douglas airport in North Carolina, are opting to block a video from the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, that blames Democrats for the ongoing federal government shutdown from airing at their checkpoints.
Airport authorities in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte and Westchester county, New York, have refused to display the footage at security checkpoints, saying the overtly political messaging potentially violates state and federal law, including the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from partisan political activity.
In the video, obtained first by Fox News, Noem tells travelers: “Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA [Transportation Security Administration] employees are working without pay.”
The Port of Portland told the Guardian it “did not consent to playing the video in its current form, as we believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes and messaging”. It added that Oregon law bars public employees from promoting or opposing any political party or affiliation – and that “consenting to playing this video on Port assets would violate Oregon law”.
Las Vegas’s Harry Reid international airport also declined to display the TSA video on similar grounds, saying in a statement “its content included political messaging that did not align with the neutral, informational nature of the public service announcements typically shown at the security checkpoints” and also pointed to the Hatch Act.
The Hatch Act is a 1939 federal law that prohibits political activities by federal employees to ensure government programs remain non-partisan.
Phoenix Sky Harbor international airport also told the Guardian that it “declined to post the video” to stay “consistent with airport policy”, which does not allow for political content.
The Port of Seattle, which runs the Seattle-Tacoma international airport, similarly declined, pointing to “the political nature of the content”.
Charlotte Douglas international airport said North Carolina municipal law and the airport’s policy for digital content “do not permit the referenced video”. The airport also noted that TSA does not own any monitors at its checkpoints, and that its limited digital screens are designated for wayfinding, travel information and revenue-generating services.
Westchester county, in a statement posted online, called the video “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials”.
“The PSA politicizes the impacts of a federal government shutdown on TSA operations,” the county executive said, adding the tone was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “undermines public trust”.
A Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, echoed Noem’s language to blame “political gamesmanship” in a statement to the Guardian, adding that “Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”
The Port of Seattle said that it continued to “urge bipartisan efforts to end the government shutdown” and was working to find ways to support federal employees working without pay during the closure.
