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A number of key international air travel hubs across the US, including Phoenix Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle–Tacoma, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, have opted to restrict a video from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for the current federal government shutdown from being shown at their screening locations.

Legal Concerns Raised by Airport Officials

Airport authorities in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, and Westchester, New York have refused to display the video content at security checkpoints, stating that the clearly partisan content could contravene state and federal law, such as the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan actions.

“Congressional Democrats decline to finance the U.S. government, and because of this, many of our activities are affected, and most of our Transportation Security Administration staff are unpaid,” Noem stated in the video.

Portland Response

The Portland airport authority noted that it “did not consent to playing the PSA in its current form, as we maintain the Hatch Act clearly prohibits use of public assets for partisan messaging.” It added that state regulations in Oregon prohibits public employees from supporting or criticizing any political party and that agreeing to play this video would violate Oregon law.

Las Vegas Position

The Harry Reid International Airport also declined to display the security announcement on similar grounds, noting in a release that “the video's message included partisan statements that did not align with the impartial, educational purpose of the public service announcements typically shown at checkpoint screens” and also cited the Hatch Act.

Explaining the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act is a U.S. law that forbids political activities by federal employees to guarantee that public services stay impartial.

Additional Authority Responses

• Phoenix Sky Harbor airport stated that it “declined to post the PSA” to stay “consistent with airport guidelines,” which prohibits political content.
• The Port of Seattle, which operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, similarly declined, pointing to “the partisan tone of the content.”
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport said that North Carolina local regulations and the airport's rules for digital content “do not allow the video in question.” The airport also noted that the TSA does not own any monitors at its security areas and that its limited display monitors are reserved for wayfinding, flight updates, and revenue-generating services.

Westchester County Criticism

The county, in a statement, described the video “inappropriate, unacceptable, and out of line with the values we anticipate from our federal leaders.”

“The public service announcement makes political the impacts of a government closure on TSA operations,” the county executive stated, adding that the message was “overly alarming” and “erodes public trust.”

DHS Response

A DHS official, Tricia McLaughlin, repeated the Secretary's language to attribute fault to “partisan tactics” in a statement, adding that “Democratic leaders will soon recognize the significance of opening the federal government.”

Cross-Party Calls for Solution

The Port of Seattle commented that it continued to “urge cooperative actions to resolve the government shutdown” and was striving to find methods to assist government workers unpaid during the closure.