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Several prominent global airports across the America, such as Phoenix Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, have opted to prevent a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that attributes responsibility to Democrats for the ongoing federal government shutdown from being shown at their screening locations.

Legal Concerns Raised by Aviation Authorities

Aviation administrators in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Westchester County have refused to display the footage at screening areas, stating that the political statements could contravene state and federal law, including the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from participating in political campaigning.

“Democratic legislators decline to support funding for the federal government, and as a result, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our Transportation Security Administration employees are unpaid,” the Secretary stated in the video.

The Port of Portland Response

The Port of Portland clarified that it “would not agree to playing the video in its present version, as we maintain the federal law clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes.” It added that state regulations in Oregon bars government staff from promoting or opposing any political party and that agreeing to broadcast this video would break state law.

Las Vegas Position

Las Vegas's Harry Reid International Airport also declined to show the security announcement on similar grounds, noting in a statement that “its content included partisan statements that did not align with the neutral, educational nature of the PSAs typically shown at security checkpoints” and also referenced the federal act.

Explaining the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act of 1939 is a federal law that forbids partisan actions by federal employees to ensure that government programs stay non-partisan.

Additional Airport Responses

• Phoenix airport airport explained that it “refused to display the video” to stay “consistent with airport guidelines,” which does not allow partisan material.
• The Seattle port authority, which operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, also refused, pointing to “the partisan tone of the content.”
• Charlotte airport clarified that state municipal law and the airport’s policy for screen content “do not permit the referenced video.” The airport also added that the TSA does not own any monitors at its checkpoints and that its limited display monitors are designated for directions, flight updates, and revenue-generating services.

Westchester County Objection

Westchester County, in a statement, described the video “unacceptable, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials.”

“The public service announcement makes political the impacts of a government closure on TSA operations,” the county leader said, adding that the message was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “undermines customer confidence.”

Homeland Security Reply

A DHS assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, repeated the Secretary's wording to attribute fault to “partisan tactics” in a response, adding that “Democratic leaders will soon realize the significance of opening the federal government.”

Bipartisan Appeals for Solution

The Seattle authority said that it continued to “urge bipartisan efforts to resolve the federal closure” and was working to find methods to support federal employees unpaid during the closure.