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A number of prominent 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 public service announcement from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for the current government closure from airing at their screening locations.

Regulatory Issues Raised by Airport Authorities

Airport officials in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, and Westchester, New York have declined to broadcast the video content at screening areas, stating that the clearly partisan content could breach federal and state regulations, including the Hatch Act of 1939, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity.

“Congressional Democrats refuse to finance the U.S. government, and because of this, many of our operations are affected, and most of our Transportation Security Administration workers are not receiving wages,” the Secretary remarked in the announcement.

The Port of Portland Response

The Portland airport authority clarified that it “would not agree to playing the PSA in its current form, as we consider the federal law clearly prohibits utilization of government resources for political purposes.” It added that state regulations in Oregon prohibits government staff from promoting or opposing any party affiliation and that consenting to play this video would violate Oregon law.

Las Vegas Position

Las Vegas's Harry Reid airport also declined to show the TSA video on comparable reasons, stating in a statement that “its content included political messaging that did not align with the impartial, educational purpose of the PSAs usually displayed at security checkpoints” and also cited the federal act.

Explaining the Hatch Act Regulations

The Hatch Act of 1939 is a federal law that prohibits political activities by federal employees to guarantee that government programs remain non-partisan.

Additional Authority Responses

• Phoenix airport airport stated that it “refused to display the video” to remain “in line with airport guidelines,” which does not allow partisan material.
• The Port of Seattle, which operates Sea-Tac airport, similarly refused, citing “the partisan tone of the content.”
• 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 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 “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the standards we expect from our nation’s top public officials.”

“The PSA politicizes the effects of a federal government shutdown on security operations,” the county leader said, noting that the message was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “erodes customer confidence.”

DHS Response

A Department of Homeland Security official, Tricia McLaughlin, repeated the Secretary's wording to attribute fault to “political gamesmanship” in a response, adding that “Democratic leaders will shortly realize the importance of opening the government.”

Bipartisan Calls for Resolution

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 working without pay during the shutdown.