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Several major international air travel hubs across the United States, among them Phoenix Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle–Tacoma, and Charlotte Douglas in NC, have decided to block a public service announcement from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that attributes responsibility to Democratic lawmakers for the continuing federal government shutdown from being shown at their checkpoint areas.

Legal Concerns Raised by Airport Officials

Airport authorities in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Westchester, New York have declined to show the video content at screening areas, stating that the political statements could violate state and federal law, such as the Hatch Act, which forbids government workers from participating in political campaigning.

“Democrats in Congress decline to support funding for the federal government, and as a result, many of our operations are affected, and most of our Transportation Security Administration staff are working without pay,” the Secretary remarked in the video.

The Port of Portland Response

The Portland airport authority noted that it “would not agree to airing the video in its present version, as we believe the federal law clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes.” The port further stated that Oregon law bars public employees from promoting or opposing any party affiliation and that agreeing to broadcast this content would violate state law.

Las Vegas Statement

The Harry Reid airport also declined to display the TSA video on comparable reasons, stating in a statement that “the video's message contained partisan statements that was inconsistent with the impartial, informational nature of the public service announcements typically shown at security checkpoints” and also cited the federal act.

Explaining the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act is a U.S. law that prohibits political activities by government employees to guarantee that government programs stay unbiased.

Additional Airport Responses

• Phoenix airport international airport explained that it “declined to post the PSA” to stay “in line with airport guidelines,” which prohibits partisan material.
• The Port of Seattle, which operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, also refused, pointing to “the partisan tone of the video.”
• Charlotte airport clarified that North Carolina municipal law and the airport's rules for screen content “do not allow the referenced video.” The authority also added that the TSA does not own any monitors at its security areas and that its limited display monitors are designated for directions, flight updates, and paid advertisements.

Westchester County Objection

The county, in a statement, described the video “unacceptable, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we anticipate from our federal leaders.”

“The public service announcement politicizes the impacts of a government closure on security operations,” the county executive stated, adding that the tone was “overly alarming” and “undermines customer confidence.”

DHS Reply

A Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, an agency representative, repeated the Secretary's language to attribute fault to “partisan tactics” in a statement, stating that “Democratic leaders will soon realize the importance of opening the government.”

Bipartisan Calls for Solution

The Port of Seattle commented that it continued to “urge cooperative actions to end the federal closure” and was working to find methods to assist government workers working without pay during the closure.