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A number of prominent international airports across the US, such as Phoenix's Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, have decided to prevent a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for the ongoing government closure from airing at their security checkpoints.

Legal Issues Raised by Airport Authorities

Aviation administrators in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Portland, Charlotte, and Westchester, New York have declined to broadcast the video content at security checkpoints, stating that the political statements could contravene state and federal law, including the Hatch Act of 1939, which bars government workers from engaging in political campaigning.

“Democrats in Congress refuse to support funding for the federal government, and as a result, many of our functions are affected, and most of our Transportation Security Administration workers are unpaid,” Noem remarked in the video.

Portland Reaction

The Port of Portland explained that it “would not agree to playing the PSA in its present version, as we consider the Hatch Act clearly prohibits utilization of government resources for political aims.” The port further stated that state regulations in Oregon bars public employees from promoting or opposing any political party and that agreeing to broadcast this content would break state law.

Harry Reid International Position

The Harry Reid airport also refused to show the TSA video on comparable reasons, 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 displayed at security checkpoints” and also cited the Hatch Act.

Understanding the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act is a U.S. law that prohibits partisan actions by government employees to guarantee that government programs stay impartial.

Further Airport Rejections

• Phoenix Sky Harbor international airport stated that it “refused to display the video” to remain “consistent with airport guidelines,” which prohibits partisan material.
• The Port of Seattle, which operates Sea-Tac airport, similarly refused, citing “the political nature of the content.”
• Charlotte airport said that North Carolina municipal law and the airport’s policy for screen content “do not permit the video in question.” The authority also noted that the Transportation Security Administration does not own any monitors at its checkpoints and that its few display monitors are designated for wayfinding, travel information, and revenue-generating services.

Westchester County Criticism

Westchester County, in a public comment, called the PSA “inappropriate, improper, and inconsistent with the standards we expect from our nation’s top public officials.”

“The public service announcement politicizes the impacts of a federal government shutdown on security operations,” the county leader stated, adding that the message was “overly alarming” and “undermines customer confidence.”

Homeland Security Reply

A Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, an agency representative, repeated Noem’s wording to attribute fault to “political gamesmanship” in a statement, adding that “Democratic leaders will shortly realize the importance of reopening the federal government.”

Bipartisan Calls for Solution

The Seattle authority said that it continued to “urge cooperative actions to end the federal closure” and was striving to find ways to support government workers working without pay during the shutdown.