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Several prominent global air travel hubs across the United States, such as Phoenix's Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle–Tacoma, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in NC, have opted to block a video from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that blames Democratic lawmakers for the continuing government closure from playing at their checkpoint areas.

Regulatory Issues Raised by Aviation Officials

Airport officials in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Westchester County have declined to display the footage at security checkpoints, stating that the political statements could violate federal and state regulations, including the Hatch Act of 1939, which bars federal employees from engaging in political campaigning.

“Congressional Democrats decline to support funding for the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our Transportation Security Administration staff are not receiving wages,” the Secretary stated in the video.

The Port of Portland Reaction

The Port of Portland noted that it “did not consent to airing the video in its present version, as we maintain the Hatch Act explicitly forbids utilization of government resources for partisan messaging.” It added that Oregon law prohibits government staff from promoting or opposing any political party and that agreeing to play this video would break Oregon law.

Harry Reid International Statement

The Harry Reid airport also declined to display the TSA video on comparable reasons, saying in a release that “the video's message contained partisan statements that did not align with the impartial, informational nature of the public service announcements typically shown at checkpoint screens” and also cited the Hatch Act.

Explaining the Hatch Act

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

Further Authority Responses

• Phoenix Sky Harbor airport explained that it “declined to display the PSA” to remain “consistent with airport guidelines,” which prohibits political content.
• The Port of Seattle, which operates Sea-Tac airport, similarly refused, pointing to “the partisan tone of the video.”
• Charlotte airport clarified that state municipal law and the airport's rules for screen content “do not allow the video in question.” The authority also noted that the TSA does not own any monitors at its checkpoints and that its limited display monitors are reserved for directions, flight updates, and revenue-generating services.

Westchester County Objection

The county, in a statement, described the video “unacceptable, unacceptable, and out of line with the values we anticipate from our nation’s top public officials.”

“The PSA makes political the impacts of a federal government shutdown on security operations,” the county executive said, adding that the message was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “undermines public trust.”

Homeland Security Response

A DHS official, an agency representative, repeated the Secretary's language to blame “political gamesmanship” in a response, adding that “Democrats will shortly realize the significance of reopening the federal government.”

Bipartisan Appeals for Solution

The Port of Seattle commented that it continued to “encourage cooperative actions to end the government shutdown” and was working to identify ways to assist federal employees unpaid during the shutdown.