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Several prominent global air travel hubs across the America, including Phoenix's Sky Harbor, Harry Reid International, Seattle–Tacoma, and Charlotte Douglas in NC, have chosen to restrict a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for the continuing government closure from being shown at their security checkpoints.

Regulatory Concerns Cited by Airport Officials

Aviation administrators in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, and Westchester, New York have declined to show the footage at security checkpoints, stating that the overtly political messaging could violate state and federal law, including the Hatch Act of 1939, which forbids federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity.

“Congressional Democrats decline to support funding for the U.S. government, and as a result, many of our functions are disrupted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay,” the Secretary stated in the announcement.

Portland Response

The Port of Portland explained that it “did not consent to playing the PSA in its present version, as we maintain the Hatch Act clearly prohibits utilization of government resources for political purposes.” It added that Oregon law prohibits public employees from promoting or opposing any political party and that consenting to broadcast this content would violate Oregon law.

Las Vegas Position

Las Vegas's Harry Reid airport also refused to display the security announcement on comparable reasons, noting in a release that “its content included partisan statements that was inconsistent with the impartial, informational nature of the public service announcements typically displayed at checkpoint screens” and also referenced the federal act.

Explaining the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act of 1939 is a U.S. law that bans partisan actions by federal employees to ensure that public services remain non-partisan.

Additional Authority Responses

• Phoenix airport international airport explained that it “refused to display the PSA” to stay “in line with airport policy,” which does not allow partisan material.
• The Port of Seattle, which manages Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, similarly declined, citing “the political nature of the video.”
• Charlotte airport clarified 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 TSA does not own any monitors at its security areas and that its few display monitors are designated for directions, travel information, and paid advertisements.

Westchester County Objection

Westchester County, in a statement, described the video “unacceptable, improper, and out of line with the standards we expect from our federal leaders.”

“The PSA makes political the impacts of a federal government shutdown on security operations,” the county leader said, noting that the tone was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “undermines customer confidence.”

Homeland Security Response

A Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, an agency representative, repeated Noem’s wording to attribute fault to “partisan tactics” in a statement, stating that “Democratic leaders will shortly realize the significance of reopening the government.”

Cross-Party Calls for Solution

The Seattle authority commented that it continued to “encourage cooperative actions to resolve the federal closure” and was striving to find methods to support federal employees unpaid during the closure.