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Several prominent international airports across the America, such as Phoenix's Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, have opted to prevent a public service announcement from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that faults Democratic lawmakers for the continuing federal government shutdown from being shown at their security checkpoints.

Regulatory Concerns Raised by Airport Authorities

Airport officials in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Charlotte, and Westchester County have declined to broadcast the footage at security checkpoints, stating that the political statements could violate state and federal law, including the Hatch Act, which bars government workers from participating in partisan actions.

“Democratic legislators decline to fund the U.S. government, and as a result, many of our operations are disrupted, and most of our Transportation Security Administration workers are not receiving wages,” the Secretary said in the video.

Portland Response

The Portland airport authority explained that it “did not consent to displaying the PSA in its current form, as we believe the federal law explicitly forbids use of public assets for political aims.” It added that Oregon law bars public employees from promoting or opposing any political party and that agreeing to broadcast this content would violate Oregon law.

Harry Reid International Statement

The Harry Reid International Airport also declined to show the security announcement on similar grounds, saying in a release that “the video's message included partisan statements that did not align with the neutral, educational purpose of the public service announcements typically shown at security checkpoints” and also cited the federal act.

Understanding the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act of 1939 is a federal law that forbids political activities by government employees to guarantee that government programs remain impartial.

Additional Authority Responses

• Phoenix Sky Harbor airport stated that it “declined to post the PSA” to stay “in line with airport policy,” which prohibits political content.
• The Port of Seattle, which operates Sea-Tac airport, also refused, pointing to “the partisan tone of the video.”
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport said that North Carolina local regulations and the airport’s policy for screen content “do not permit the video in question.” The airport also added that the TSA lacks ownership of any screens at its security areas and that its limited digital screens are reserved for directions, flight updates, and paid advertisements.

Westchester Objection

The county, in a public comment, called the video “inappropriate, improper, 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 TSA operations,” the county executive stated, adding that the message was “overly alarming” and “undermines public trust.”

Homeland Security Reply

A DHS assistant secretary, an agency representative, repeated the Secretary's language to attribute fault to “political gamesmanship” in a response, adding that “Democrats will shortly realize the importance of opening the federal government.”

Bipartisan Calls for Solution

The Port of Seattle said that it continued to “urge bipartisan efforts to end the government shutdown” and was striving to find methods to support federal employees unpaid during the shutdown.