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Several key international airports across the United States, among them Phoenix Sky Harbor, Harry Reid International, Seattle-Tacoma International, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, have decided to block a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for the continuing federal government shutdown from playing at their checkpoint areas.

Legal Concerns Cited by Airport Authorities

Aviation administrators in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Westchester County have declined to show the footage at security checkpoints, stating that the political statements could breach federal and state regulations, such as the Hatch Act of 1939, which bars government workers from engaging in partisan actions.

“Democratic legislators refuse to finance the federal government, and as a result, many of our activities are affected, and most of our Transportation Security Administration employees are working without pay,” Noem stated in the announcement.

The Port of Portland Response

The Portland airport authority explained that it “would not agree to playing the PSA in its present version, as we consider the Hatch Act explicitly forbids use of public assets for political purposes.” It added that Oregon law prohibits public employees from supporting or criticizing any political party and that consenting to play this video would break state law.

Harry Reid International Statement

The Harry Reid airport also declined to show the TSA video on comparable reasons, stating in a statement that “the video's message contained political messaging that was inconsistent with the impartial, informational nature of the public service announcements typically displayed at checkpoint screens” and also cited the federal act.

Understanding the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act is a federal law that bans partisan actions by government employees to ensure that public services stay unbiased.

Additional Authority Responses

• Phoenix airport airport explained that it “refused to display the video” to stay “in line with airport policy,” which prohibits partisan material.
• The Port of Seattle, which manages Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, similarly refused, citing “the political nature of the video.”
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport said that state local regulations and the airport’s policy for digital 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 limited display monitors are reserved for wayfinding, travel information, and paid advertisements.

Westchester Objection

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

“The PSA politicizes the impacts of a government closure on TSA operations,” the county executive stated, noting that the message was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “erodes customer confidence.”

DHS Response

A DHS assistant secretary, an agency representative, echoed the Secretary's wording to attribute fault to “partisan tactics” in a response, stating that “Democratic leaders will soon realize the significance of reopening the government.”

Bipartisan Calls for Resolution

The Port of Seattle commented that it continued to “encourage bipartisan efforts to resolve the government shutdown” and was working to identify ways to support government workers unpaid during the shutdown.