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Several major international air travel hubs across the America, such as Phoenix's Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle–Tacoma, and Charlotte Douglas in North Carolina, have chosen to prevent a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that attributes responsibility to Democrats for the ongoing government closure from being shown at their checkpoint areas.

Legal Concerns Cited by Airport Officials

Aviation administrators in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, and Westchester, New York have refused to display the video content at screening areas, stating that the clearly partisan content could breach state and federal law, such as the Hatch Act, which bars government workers from engaging in partisan actions.

“Democrats in Congress decline to finance the federal government, and as a result, many of our activities are affected, and most of our Transportation Security Administration staff are not receiving wages,” Noem said in the video.

The Port of Portland Response

The Port of Portland clarified that it “would not agree to displaying 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 bars public employees from supporting or criticizing any party affiliation and that agreeing to broadcast this content would violate Oregon law.

Las Vegas Position

Las Vegas's Harry Reid International Airport also refused to display the security announcement on comparable reasons, noting in a release that “its content included political messaging that did not align with the impartial, educational purpose of the PSAs usually displayed at checkpoint screens” and also referenced the federal act.

Explaining the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act of 1939 is a U.S. law that bans political activities by federal employees to ensure that government programs stay impartial.

Additional Airport Responses

• Phoenix Sky Harbor airport stated that it “declined to display the PSA” to stay “consistent with airport policy,” which prohibits partisan material.
• The Port of Seattle, which manages Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, similarly declined, citing “the political nature of the video.”
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport said that state local regulations and the airport’s policy for digital content “do not allow the video in question.” The authority also added that the TSA lacks ownership of any screens at its checkpoints and that its few digital screens are designated for wayfinding, travel information, and paid advertisements.

Westchester County Objection

Westchester County, in a public comment, called the PSA “unacceptable, improper, and inconsistent with the values we anticipate from our federal leaders.”

“The public service announcement politicizes the effects of a federal government shutdown on TSA operations,” the county executive stated, noting that the tone was “overly alarming” and “erodes customer confidence.”

Homeland Security Response

A Department of Homeland Security official, Tricia McLaughlin, repeated Noem’s wording to attribute fault to “political gamesmanship” in a statement, adding that “Democrats will shortly realize the importance of reopening the federal government.”

Cross-Party Calls for Resolution

The Seattle authority said that it continued to “urge cooperative actions to resolve the government shutdown” and was working to find methods to assist government workers working without pay during the shutdown.