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A number of major global air travel hubs across the America, including Phoenix Sky Harbor, Harry Reid International, Seattle-Tacoma International, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, have opted to block a public service announcement from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that blames Democratic lawmakers for the ongoing government closure from being shown at their checkpoint areas.

Legal Issues Raised by Airport Officials

Aviation administrators in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Portland, Charlotte, and Westchester County have declined to display the video content at screening areas, stating that the clearly partisan content could breach state and federal law, including the Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from engaging in partisan actions.

“Democrats in Congress refuse to support funding for the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are unpaid,” the Secretary remarked in the video.

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 believe the federal law clearly prohibits utilization of government resources for partisan messaging.” The port further stated that state regulations in Oregon bars public employees from supporting or criticizing any party affiliation and that consenting to play this content would break Oregon law.

Las Vegas Statement

The Harry Reid International Airport also refused to display the security announcement on similar grounds, saying in a release that “its content contained partisan statements that was inconsistent with the impartial, informational nature of the public service announcements usually displayed at security checkpoints” and also referenced the federal act.

Understanding the Hatch Act Regulations

The Hatch Act is a U.S. law that forbids partisan actions by government employees to ensure that public services stay impartial.

Additional Airport Responses

• Phoenix airport airport explained that it “declined to post the video” to remain “consistent with airport guidelines,” which prohibits political content.
• The Seattle port authority, which operates Sea-Tac airport, similarly declined, citing “the political nature of the content.”
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport said that North Carolina local regulations and the airport’s policy for digital content “do not allow the video in question.” The airport also added that the TSA lacks ownership of any monitors at its checkpoints and that its limited display monitors are reserved for directions, flight updates, and paid advertisements.

Westchester Objection

Westchester County, in a public comment, described the PSA “inappropriate, unacceptable, and out of line with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials.”

“The PSA politicizes the impacts of a federal government shutdown on security operations,” the county executive said, adding that the tone was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “erodes public trust.”

DHS 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 recognize the significance of opening the government.”

Bipartisan Appeals for Solution

The Port of Seattle commented that it continued to “encourage bipartisan efforts to resolve the government shutdown” and was striving to identify methods to assist government workers working without pay during the shutdown.