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A number of major international airports across the United States, such as Phoenix Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in NC, have opted to block a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for the ongoing federal government shutdown from being shown at their screening locations.

Legal Issues Raised by Aviation Authorities

Airport officials in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Westchester, New York have declined to broadcast the footage at security checkpoints, stating that the political statements could contravene state and federal law, such as the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from participating in partisan political activity.

“Democratic legislators decline to support funding for the U.S. government, and as a result, many of our activities are impacted, and most of our TSA staff are unpaid,” Noem remarked in the video.

Portland Reaction

The Port of Portland clarified that it “would not agree to airing the PSA in its present version, as we consider the federal law explicitly forbids utilization of government resources for political purposes.” It added that Oregon law prohibits public employees from supporting or criticizing any party affiliation and that agreeing to play this content would break state law.

Harry Reid International Position

The Harry Reid International Airport also refused to show the TSA video on comparable reasons, saying in a statement that “its content included political messaging that was inconsistent with the neutral, informational nature of the PSAs usually shown at security checkpoints” and also cited the Hatch Act.

Understanding the Hatch Act Regulations

The Hatch Act is a federal law that prohibits partisan actions by federal employees to guarantee that government programs remain impartial.

Additional Airport Rejections

• Phoenix airport airport stated that it “refused to post the video” to stay “consistent with airport policy,” which prohibits political content.
• The Seattle port authority, which operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, similarly refused, citing “the partisan tone of the video.”
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport said that North Carolina local regulations and the airport's rules for screen content “do not allow the referenced video.” The airport also noted that the TSA does not own any monitors at its checkpoints and that its few digital screens are reserved for wayfinding, flight updates, and revenue-generating services.

Westchester Objection

Westchester County, in a statement, described the PSA “inappropriate, unacceptable, and out of line with the standards we anticipate from our nation’s top public officials.”

“The PSA makes political the impacts of a federal government shutdown on TSA operations,” the county executive said, noting that the message was “overly alarming” and “undermines public trust.”

Homeland Security Reply

A DHS assistant secretary, an agency representative, repeated the Secretary's wording to attribute fault to “political gamesmanship” in a statement, adding that “Democrats will shortly recognize the importance of reopening the government.”

Cross-Party Appeals for Resolution

The Port of Seattle said that it continued to “encourage bipartisan efforts to resolve the federal closure” and was striving to find methods to support federal employees unpaid during the shutdown.