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Several major global airports across the United States, such as Phoenix Sky Harbor, Harry Reid International, Seattle–Tacoma, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, have chosen to prevent a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that faults Democratic lawmakers for the current government closure from being shown at their security checkpoints.

Legal Issues Raised by Airport Authorities

Aviation administrators in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Westchester County have refused to show the footage at security checkpoints, stating that the overtly political messaging could contravene state and federal law, such as the Hatch Act, which forbids government workers from participating in partisan political activity.

“Democrats in Congress refuse to support funding for the U.S. government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA workers are unpaid,” the Secretary stated in the announcement.

Portland Response

The Port of Portland noted that it “would not agree to displaying the video in its current form, as we maintain the Hatch Act clearly prohibits utilization of government resources for political purposes.” It added that state regulations in Oregon bars public employees from promoting or opposing any party affiliation and that consenting to broadcast this video would violate state law.

Las Vegas Position

Las Vegas's Harry Reid International Airport also declined to display the TSA video on comparable reasons, noting in a release that “the video's message contained partisan statements that was inconsistent with the impartial, informational nature of the public service announcements usually shown at checkpoint screens” and also cited the Hatch Act.

Explaining the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act is a U.S. law that forbids partisan actions by federal employees to guarantee that government programs remain unbiased.

Additional Authority Responses

• Phoenix airport international airport explained that it “declined to post the video” to stay “consistent with airport policy,” which does not allow political content.
• The Seattle port authority, which manages Sea-Tac airport, similarly declined, citing “the partisan tone of the video.”
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport said that North Carolina municipal law and the airport's rules for digital content “do not allow the video in question.” The authority also noted that the Transportation Security Administration lacks ownership of any screens at its checkpoints and that its few digital screens are designated for wayfinding, travel information, and paid advertisements.

Westchester County Criticism

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

“The public service announcement makes political the impacts of a federal government shutdown on TSA operations,” the county executive stated, adding that the tone was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “erodes customer confidence.”

Homeland Security Reply

A DHS official, Tricia McLaughlin, repeated Noem’s wording to attribute fault to “partisan tactics” in a statement, adding that “Democrats will shortly realize the importance of reopening the federal government.”

Cross-Party Appeals for Solution

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