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Several key global airports across the America, among them Phoenix Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, have decided to block a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that faults Democratic lawmakers for the current federal government shutdown from playing at their screening locations.

Legal Concerns Raised by Aviation Authorities

Airport authorities in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, and Westchester County have refused to broadcast the video content at screening areas, stating that the overtly political messaging could violate state and federal law, including the Hatch Act, which forbids government workers from participating in political campaigning.

“Democratic legislators refuse to fund the U.S. government, and because of this, many of our operations are affected, and most of our TSA workers are working without pay,” Noem said in the video.

Portland Response

The Portland airport authority noted that it “would not agree to displaying the video in its current form, as we believe the federal law clearly prohibits use of public assets for political aims.” It added that state regulations in Oregon prohibits public employees from supporting or criticizing any party affiliation and that consenting to broadcast this content would break state law.

Las Vegas Statement

Las Vegas's Harry Reid International Airport also declined to show the TSA video on comparable reasons, noting in a statement that “its content included partisan statements that was inconsistent with the impartial, educational nature of the PSAs typically shown at security checkpoints” and also referenced the federal act.

Understanding the Hatch Act Regulations

The Hatch Act of 1939 is a U.S. law that forbids partisan actions by government employees to guarantee that public services stay non-partisan.

Additional Authority Responses

• Phoenix airport airport explained that it “refused to post the PSA” to remain “consistent with airport policy,” which prohibits political content.
• The Seattle port authority, which manages Sea-Tac airport, similarly refused, pointing to “the political nature of the content.”
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport said that North Carolina municipal law and the airport's rules for digital content “do not permit the video in question.” The airport also added that the Transportation Security Administration does not own any screens at its checkpoints and that its limited display monitors are reserved for directions, travel information, and revenue-generating services.

Westchester County Objection

The county, in a public comment, described the video “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the standards we anticipate from our federal leaders.”

“The public service announcement politicizes the impacts of a government closure on security operations,” the county leader said, adding that the message was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “undermines customer confidence.”

Homeland Security Response

A Department of Homeland Security official, an agency representative, repeated Noem’s wording to blame “partisan tactics” in a statement, adding that “Democratic leaders will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”

Bipartisan Appeals for Resolution

The Port of Seattle said that it continued to “urge cooperative actions to resolve the federal closure” and was striving to find ways to support government workers working without pay during the shutdown.